Splatdance! Spyke's New Groove!
by Kabii-Kins
Summary: A Multi-chapter fic that is currently up to date on my Ao3 account. Will upload new chapters possibly every Thursday on here if I can. {STORY MAY CONTAIN OOC CHARACTERS} {T FOR LANGUAGE AND BREIF OCCASIONAL NUDITY}
1. Prolouge

It was on the brink of midnight, and for the first time since the Great Zapfish returned to Inkopolis, the plaza was completely barren. Not a single inkling was seen scurrying about to fit in one last turf war before their drowsiness got hold of the best of them. Not a single light shone from the stores that stood adjacent to the lobby's bright green tower. Even the two cousins that run Inkopolis news retired for the night. Only the significantly dimmer lights from the street lights and billboards were lit, guiding potential late night goers along their way.

It was like all aspects of time were halted in this state of serene silence, leaving the still moving in a state of complete solitude.

A state of solitude that Spyke didn't mind that feeling at all.

On these nights, he felt the most comfortable leaving his little corner of the alleyway; venturing out to the plaza. Most of the time, he'd stare up at the displays that the heart of the city advertised, occasionally moving up to the stars above if they ever dared to peek out from the harsh lights of the city; listening to the music that filtered out through his earbuds as he wandered by.

But there were these strange temptations that he held. There were times where he stared towards the very center of the plaza and felt the need to go over there and… dance.

He would always curse himself whenever those dumb thoughts came to mind, but the temptation would still remain in the back of his thoughts, much to his dismay.

Locking his gaze at the perfectly circular bevel in the pavement, he sighed; yanking the earbuds out of his phone, letting the speakers naturally fall out of his ears. He quickly wadded the cord-threaded speakers up and stoed them into the pocket of his khaki jeans. He tucked his phone into the remaining free pocket briefly as he removed his poncho, carefully trying to not knock it out of the flimsy pouch it resided in. Once done, he tossed the article of clothing over his shoulder, having it slightly graze his lower back as he approached the center of the plaza, retrieving the stoed phone once he stood inside the beveled round of pavement.

Letting the poncho slip through his grasp and off his shoulder, he hastily scrolled through his phone to find a song to 'dance' to. He grumbled as he swiped each song by in his digital album, wondering how the hell he managed to cave under this stupid temptation. After a short while, he landed on one song that was sung by one of the squid sisters. His eyes scanned the title a few times before he sighed with a bittersweet contempt.

"Alright." He spoke, his voice breaking the silence of the sleepy plaza. "I guess it'll be this one then…" He looked around to see if someone or something slipped out of their slumber to see what was going before kicking his knitwear aside; kneeling down to re-adjust the poncho so he can prop his phone up shortly afterwards. He stared at the phone one last time before he pressed the play button, standing up as the familiar tune began to float pass his ears and out to the night sky.

One way or another, He knew he was probably going to regret doing this.

He stood up and trotted back to the very center of the plaza, trying to get a hold of the mellow rhythm; raising his arms above his head prior to the first brief pause in the song.

As the vocalist of the song, Marie, sang through the small but somehow impressively loud speakers, Spyke felt his muscles relax as if they weren't tense in the first place. His body flowed along with the girl's soothing voice, allowing himself to lighten up the weight of his steps as he moved around the veil of music that surrounded him.

At this point, the world around him seemingly vanished as he moved in a bewildering, interpretive fashion; almost as if the nothing could stop him from what he was doing, not even the feared passerby would catch him off guard- at first, at least.

...

He held a simplistic yet somewhat elegant pose once the song petered out to a dead silence. His left arm was extended, its hand spread as if it was trying to reach for something; while his right arm folded, with its hand resting firmly on his chest. His feet were aligned one after another, his toes of one foot barely grazing the heel of the other. Spyke heavily breathed, slightly winded from all of the movement he just did; eventually breaking the pose, spreading his feet shoulder-length apart and resting them on his knees, breathing slightly heavier than he was a couple of seconds ago. "Jesus…" He gasped between breaths. "That took way more outta me than I 'ought it would."

He eventually stood up straight, stretching out his back a bit while still staring up at the night sky. A few moments later, he collected his phone and his poncho and quickly made his way back to his alleyway, hoping that nobody notices him.

…

"Holy shit…" A soft murmur escaped from her lips as she stared blankly at the phone she held adjacent to her face, her mouth agape.

Annie only woke up to grab a bottled water from the shop's fridge since the plumbing in her above-shop apartment was a bit wonky, but she wasn't expecting to find herself in this sort of situation. She grew more and more curious as she noticed the slender urchin from the alleyway rushing towards the center of Inkopolis plaza, partially because she's never seen him leave the alleyway before, let alone stand up to stretch his legs a bit. But she grew quite surprised as he started to play music to dance to in the middle of the night, leaving both her eyes and her phone camera glued to his steady, petite figure as it moved enticingly to the song's melody.

A cold breeze from a poorly insulated window brushed against her pale skin, snapping her out of her trance. She gasped, tucking her phone into her pajama pocket before snatching up her bottle of water, quickly making her way back upstairs without a sound.

…

Annie sighed as she gently closed her bedroom door behind her, trying not to wake up her snarky sidekick, Moe. She pulled out her phone once more and lit up the screen, having it act like a dim flashlight to guide her back to her bed. Once there, she carefully slipped under the covers, hoping not to make the bed creak as she did so, holding the device close to her chest. She took a few moments before she pulled the phone away from her, unlocking it and opening up the video she took a short while ago. Turning the volume down on her phone, she proceeded to rewatch the scene.

It wasn't long until she heard the sound of water being pushed around, causing her to freeze up tremendously. She held her breath hoping he would just try to go back to sleep, even though she knew he definitely wasn't going to such a thing.

"What the hell are you doing, nerd?" Moe mumbled, peeking his head over his fishbowl that rested on her bedside table.

Annie shifted awkwardly in her bed, pulling her blanket over her shoulder hoping that Moe wouldn't catch what's on her screen. "I'm watching a video…" She blushed. "Don't worry about me dude… Just go back to sleep please."

Moe scoffed as he leapt from his bowl into Annie's hair, making her flinch. "M-Moe!"

Moe squinted as he tried to make up the shapes on his owner's phone screen. "Isn't that the spiky idiot that hides in the alleyway all the time?" He grunted. Annie locked the phone and sat up. "H-he's not an idiot Moe…" Annie stuttered out, making Moe scoff once more. "You don't even know the guy!" He shouted.

Annie pouted as she grabbed a hold of her screaming partner, placing him back in his fishbowl. "Y-You don't even know him either Moe." She huffed, placing her phone on the bedside table next to the said fishbowl. "J-Just go back to sleep before you wake up our neighbors… Please."

"Tch. Whatever." Moe rolled his eyes as Annie proceed to tuck herself back into her bed, quickly entering the world of sleep. Moe watched as her breathing slowed before speaking again. "What was so special about that video anyways." He mumbled to himself before leaping out of the bowl once more, landing next to Annie's phone. He unlocked it and stared blankly at the phone screen for a short while before playing the video again.

Just watching the dude move around made him shake his little fishy head. The man just looked like a fool moving in the way he was, and Moe saw nothing special in what he was doing. All he saw was something that could ruin that man's reputation throughout the city!

"Hmm…" Moe hummed. Something that could ruin that man's reputation throughout the city…

Annie is going to hate him for doing this. But it'll be so worth it in his eyes.


	2. Chapter 1: An unfortunate first meeting!

It was early in the morning when she figured out. And when she did, she felt something she had never felt in her life: Pure anger. It wasn't any type of generic anger either, it was the type of anger felt from pure betrayal.

Annie marched down the corridors of her above store apartment, paying absolutely no mind to the complaining fish inside the glass dome she carried. "HEY NERD! SLOW DOWN WOULD YA' MY BOWL'S LOSING A LOT OF WATER HERE."

Annie only scoffed as a reply to his pleas, marching down the stairs and to the front of the store, sternly setting the bowl onto the front counter and glared at the fish who was still regaining his vision. "Ugh… It's about damn time."

"What the hell did you do Moe?" Annie firmly asked, placing her hands on her hips, trying to look as angered as she could.

"'The hell are you talking about?"

"Oh, I think you know Moe." Annie grumbled as she pulled out her phone, which was silenced due to the numerous notifications she received over the past few hours, fidgeting with the device as she pulled up a certain application on her phone. "'Spiky Idiot Dances to Gray Haired Teenager's "hit single."' Does that string of words- HAPPEN to sound familiar to you?" Annie showed what was displayed onto her screen, making Moe grin proudly to himself.

"Hmmm…" He hummed, nodding his little fishy head. "... Ten million views already? That's pretty impressive, especially for a loser like him."

"That's not the point Moe." Annie shoved the phone back into her pocket, leaning towards the fish with furrowed brows. "How many goddamn times did I tell you not to go though my shit? Let alone upload something that I found super private for the ENTIRE world to see!"

Moe leaned back. "Jesus Annie, why are you so close to me right now? Are you trying to kiss me or something?"

"MOE I SWEAR TO-"

Annie was cut off by a sudden knocking at the storefront door, making the two turn to see who was there.

"Ah… 'Ello… Can eh… Either of you let me in?"

Annie gasped, ducking behind the front counter. It was HIM; standing right there at the door, probably bottling up his rage for when he actually got into the store. She tucked her head between her knees, hoping that he'll go away. Moe made a clicking sound before calling out for Annie. "Are you going to let the loser in or not you nerd?"

"A-Are you CRAZY!?" Annie whispered, beginning to quiver in fear. "I-I don't want him to hurt me for invading his privacy the way I did!"

Suddenly there was a sound of glass shattering, an audible click from the door being heard shortly afterwards. Moe froze. "Well…" He spoke, a sliver of shock in his voice. "It looks like the Idiot let himself in anyways."

…

Spyke was, in a way, fuming. He felt more and more angered as he marched towards the front counter, slamming his hands on the wooden countertop, disregarding the pain he felt in his right hand. "Alright, I'll just jump straight to the point." He said trying to keep his calm composure. "Which one of you uploaded the video to SplatTube." He leaned over the countertop a bit, catching a glimpse of Annie, who was still huddled up in fear. "Was it you, pinky?"

Annie slowly let up from her balled up state, still keeping her guard up as she turned around to meet eyes with the stranger staring her down. She gulped, trying to help herself up as she nervously maintained eye contact with him. "N-No mister-"

"Then who was it?"

Annie gripped onto the countertop, trying her best to stay on her feet as she continued to stare into his eyes. They were burning with some sort of bottled up rage, kind of like the anger she felt before he showed up; but she knew that his fury was much more worse than any sort of anger she displayed that morning. But they also, strangely enough, had a gleam of curiosity and embarrassment; both feelings, of course, only contributed to his anger but still stood alone as separate emotions themselves. "I-"

"IT WAS ME YOU LOSER!"

Both Spyke and Annie looked down at Moe, who was glaring daggers at Spyke. Spyke leaned forward, squinting at the clownfish. "It was you 'uh?" He snarkily asked. Moe hopped up onto the edge of the bowl. "HELL YEAH IT WAS. ARE YOU GOING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT YA' PRICK!?"

Spyke grunted as he yanked the fish out of the bowl, almost knocking it off the table. "Do ya have any idea how humiliatin' this is for me?" He shot a mean glare at him. "All mornin' I hear chuckles from some 'o them inkling blokes while others just stare at me. It was like I 'wos caught in the middle of town wit nofin but my dignity ta wear."

Moe pouted. "I'm pretty sure nobody would want to see you like that anyways, loser."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT I WAS TRYING TO MAKE H-"

Before Spyke finished his statement, Moe spat ink in Spykes face, causing the urchin to immediately drop the him, clutching at his contaminated face. "yOU TWAT." Spyke shouted, grunting in pain from the ink that seeped into his exposed eye.

Annie rushed out from behind the counter to retrieve the fish that was flopping on her tile masonry floor. "Moe what the hell did you do to him?" She whispered, still a bit panicked.

Moe huffed. "It was a form of self defense." He bluntly stated hopping into Annie's hair. "That idiot could of thrown me 'cross this damn shop if he held me for another second."

Annie shook her head before turning to Spyke, who was already wedged between a display stand and a couple of empty crates, one hand desperately trying to rub off the ink. She sighed. "You're not going to get that off with just your hand… you know."

"Y-yeah." Spyke winced. "I sorta figured that one out myself a moment ago."

"I know how to remove ink from certain clothing that got inked on at Port Mackerel." Annie muttered, walking over to Spyke.

"Why d'ya mention that?"

Annie frowned as she noticed the sudden change of dynamic of the urchin's voice. He sounded so distressed and in pain, it almost seemed that he wasn't angry moments ago. "The formula I use is non-toxic. It should be safe to use on your skin if you let me help you clean off that ink… it's the only thing I can offer right now as a form of an apology…"

Spyke sighed.

…

"Okay… Now hold still…"

Spyke could only oblige to the anemone's polite command. Trying the best he could to remain stiff as a board as he felt a cold, damp cloth gaze his skin. He breathed sharply through his teeth, making her stop abruptly.

"O-oh! I'm sorry" She removed the cloth from his face to wash it off. "I should've warned you about it being a bit cold." Spyke could hear her nervously giggle, making his shoulders droop in response.

"It's okay there, love." Spyke forced soft chuckle in an attempt to calm the girl down. "Just git this stuff off my face, yeah?"

Annie nodded, retrieving the rag from the wash bowl.


	3. Chapter 2: Lending a helping hand!

Spyke stared at his hand, ignoring both the dampness of his face and the sharp bursts of pain it gave him as he moved it around to view it's injured state. It had, of course, tiny shards of glass puncturing the bits of his hand that only grazed the falling shards of the glass door he punched his way through; followed by a couple of scrapes and cuts around his knuckles, all of which had already begun to scab over.

He sighed at the scrapes and gashes caused by his impulsive act, knowing that he could of picked the exterior lock with his screwdriver he seemed to always carry with him.

"Great job Spyke." He muttered to himself sarcastically. "Way 'ta do yourself under this time. How the bloody hell am I going to do anything with this mangled mess?" He slowly turned his hand to check if his palm injured as well.

The palm of his mangled hand was slightly scraped, a dark "blood-like" substance was smeared across his palm. But fortunately, it wasn't as badly scaved as the rest of his hand. He sighed once more, slowly resting his injured hand on his lap once more, his eyes trailed up to the ceiling of the room; listening to the quiet arguing going on down the main corridor of the apartment.

Speaking of which, Spyke never knew why Annie brought him up to her apartment to take care of him in the first place. Then again, it could be understandable for a couple of reasons, so he didn't bother to ask.

A couple of minutes passed before he heard footsteps scurrying back through the carpeted hallway. Spyke sat up as he saw Annie rush back towards him, lugging a first aide kit almost half her size. "I-I'm sorry!" She said, clearing off half of the coffee table in front of the sofa that Spyke sat on. "Moe was being a bit stubborn about helping me find where I put the kit." She rolled her eyes as she laid down the case on the cleared area of the coffee table, unlatching the case before hopping onto the couch. "Don't worry, he's in his bowl right now."

Spyke forced a small grin as he watch her shift through the various bandages and wound cleansing supplies she had tucked in the plastic case. "Hahah…" Spyke chuckled. "I guess it's good that ya' left 'em in a different room as well 'en rite? I would of hurt dat lil' punk if he kept yappin' his mouth about uploadin' 'at video." As he continued talking, he grew a bit aggravated once more. "'At Lil' runt…" he scoffed. "I oughtta make em inta' small platter of sushi fer doin dis."

Annie chuckled under her breath. "You're not the first to say that." She pulled out a pair of needle nose tweezers and turned to him.

Spyke looked up at her, his eyes slightly widening. "Oh! Sorry 'ere love! I guess I wos ramblin' 'ere. I know he's yet partner n' all but he's really-"

"Yeah... I know." Annie reassured. "He's not the greatest of personalities here. In fact a lot of customers that come here get driven away by him." She held out her empty hand, while wearing down the tweezers she held in her hands a bit.

Without another word needing to be said Spyke extended his injured hand out, resting it on the significantly smaller one; And in almost no time at all, Annie began to examine the hand once more, her eyes almost as terror filled as they were when she first noticed it's condition. A short while later she began to graze his hand with the slender nosed tweezers, plucking out any bit of glass she could find and placing them on a small coaster nearby.

Spyke winced in pain when the needle headed tweezers grazed pass an open wound on his hand, making Annie abruptly stop what she was doing; immediately dropping the tweezers on the table next to her. "O-oh!" She gasped, watching a thick liquid drip from his hand. "I-I'm so sorry!"

"D-don't worry love." Spyke gripped his wrist in a vague attempt to slow the flow of bleeding. "Just patch it up before it gets worse, o-okay?" Annie looked up at his pained gaze, before looking back down to his hand, sighing as she released his hand to look for an antibiotic gauze to clean his hand with. She knew that there were still some shards left In his hand, but they were too small to find at the moment, and it pained her just to leave them there. As she pulled out a sealed package of wipes, she examined his bleeding hand once more. She then sighed as she ripped open the package. "Okay." She grabbed his hand once more. "This might sting a little bit but… It's uhm… better than getting an Infection..." Her soft voice trailed off into a mutter as she began to clean his hand. "You know… from punching my… door."

Spyke forced out a chuckle. "Yeah… sorry 'bout that." He blushed in embarrassment at the foolishness of his impulsive act. He let out a subtle quivver as he felt the cold, wet cloth brush past his skin; wiping away the dark substance that stained his orange skin.

After a few cloths were stained, Annie reached for the bandage wrap that was tucked underneath a small bag of cotton swabs and began to wrap Spyke's hand up. "This should do for now." She said half way up his palm. "It's not the best way to treat cuts that large… but it should help at least a little bit." Annie shrugged as she ripped the the bandage wrap at the end of his palm, firmly tapping it so it wouldn't peel off.

Spyke huffed. "Thanks, love." He gazed at his hand for a moment as Annie got up to take care of the small mess that was made. "N-No problem." She piled the small rags onto the same coaster that the small shards of glass rested on, and carried them over to the sink in the small kitchen near by.

Spyke shifted his position on the couch, leaning back on the fluffed up back cushion swiping up the TV remote before doing so. He could hear a soft scraping sound coming from the kitchen, followed by the crinkling of cheap plastic, and did his best to ignore it as he turned on the TV, that sat across the room.

"Hold onto your tentacles!"

"It's Inkopolis news time!"

Spyke rolled his eyes as the familiar voices bursted from the stereo speakers that lined the wide screened television. He knew who they belonged to before the images faded into the screen. "It's already time for another one 'o these?" He muttered to himself. "It's almost like they just announced a map rotation a couple of minutes ago."

"It's time to announce the current map rotation for the afternoon turf wars!"

"Before we do that Callie, I think we should about this video people have been raving about over the past couple of hours."

"U-uh!? Why Marie?"

"Because right before this broadcast you said that you haven't heard anything about it until an hour ago."

"I-Is that a problem!?"

"Callie, everyone in Inkopolis and their dog has at least heard about the video by now!"

"HEY, I was too busy to check what was trending this morning on Squitter!"

Spyke sat up a bit in realisation at what the two were actually talking about, gripping the couch cushion beneath him as Marie handed her phone to Callie, smirking as her cousin gave her a confused stare.

"Here."

"Wha-"

"We're not going to announce the the rotations until you watch it, Callie. So you better hu-"

"Why!?"

"I want this reaction to be live, so just H-"

"Okay! Okay! Jeez Marie… why are you being so pushy about this?"

"It's pretty embarrassing being the only one under a rock when it comes to things like this Cal. You'll thank me after watching this, trust me."

Callie gave Marie a confused look for a short while before shrugging, shifting her gaze back to the small device she held.

"O-Okay…?"

Marie smiled as she walked over to Callie, leaning over her shoulder. She watched as her cousin carefully unlocked the system, having it redirect her immediately to the video that she wanted her to watch. Callie's eyes slightly widened.

"Did you watch this again before we went on air?"

"Shhhush! Just watch it! Just watch it!"

Callie rolled her eyes as she peered down at the screen, sounds began to whirr out of the phone speakers once the video began. It only took a few moments before she made an audible reaction.

"Holy shit."

Marie laughed.

"Is that-"

"Uh-huh!"

"He's so tall! Oh my **god** he's so tall!"

Spyke's face at this point was flushed in embarrassment. 'Everyone and their dog…' He sighed as he gripped the sides of his head, slipping his palm around one of the spikes that adorned his head. 'Great. Just great. Now everything that exists in Inkopolis knows this convoluted piece of shit secret of mine.'

'Great…'

...

"So uh…" Moe sloshed around in Annie's hair before peering over her bangs to look down at her blue eyes. "Why did you take me out of the bowl, nerd?"

Annie sighed, tucking her hands into her sweater pockets as she continued walking down the carpeted corridor.

Moe pulled himself back a bit, shrugging as he did so. "I mean I'm not complaining or anything but you yourself said-"

"I want you to apologize." Annie muttered with a slight bit of firmness in her tone.

"For what?" He grunted, leaning over her bangs once more. "I didn't do jack shit and you know it."

"You spat ink at someone."

"HEY! I was trying to defend us from that runt! He could've killed the two of us!" Moe shouted.

"But he didn't."

"He BROKE into OUR shop!"

Annie huffed as she grabbed Moe from her flowing hair so she could look him on the eye. "Yes, I'm aware." She said, trying her best to give him a formidable glare. "But YOU spat ink in his face. You could of made him blind if any of it got in his eyes!" She quickly returned the fish to her hair. "You know, I wasted four bottles of water on cleaning the bloodstains that those glass shards left on my coaster. You KNOW we've been having problems with our plumbing. You owe him an apology at the least."

Moe sighed. "You're crazy."

"I could be using that clean water to clean your fishbowl you know." Annie returned her hands to her pockets as she approached the archway that lead to the rest of the apartment. "Besides, I'm not asking you to kiss his ass or anything. I just want you to say 'I'm sorry for being a dick.' Is it that hard?"

Moe grumbled as Annie approached the living area, but felt a sudden jolt as she suddenly stopped moving. He sighed. "What now?"

"H-he's gone."

Moe blinked, leaning over her bangs once more to take a look at the scene. "Good riddance." He chuckled, leaning back to a relaxing position. "We can finally open this damn shop and continue today as if that street rat didn't break down our front door."

Annie stood there for a moment as a thought came to her mind. She walked over to the knee high coffee table where the first aide kit still sat, it's lid remaining wide open and grabbed the tape bandages before rushing towards the stairs; catching Moe off guard. "Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" He gripped onto Annie's hair as she rushed downstairs and to the small fridge, grabbing a few bottles of water before reaching for a bag that sat on top of a longboard that conveniently was right next to the fridge. "What the HELL are you doing!?" Moe shouted, as he watched her frantically pack the small, lime green bag with the few items she had.

"I noticed there was an open window on our way back to the living room." She grabbed the longboard and threw the backpack over her shoulder, sprinting towards the cash register to get a bit of extra funds in case of emergency. "It was open enough for him to climb through so if my assumption is right…" She tucked the money into a small pouch in the bag along with her cellphone that still rested next to it. "He should be trying to hide himself from the public, somewhere else in the city."

"You're not planning to go after him, are you?"

Annie blushed, removing her sweater and tied the sleeves around her waist before picking up the longboard once more. "I-I need to talk to him more about this situation… Besides, by the time we probably find him, I would need to change his bandages." Annie ran to the door, gently opening it so the broken glass wouldn't hurt her all that much. "And I'm still not letting you get away with this without you apologizing to him."

Moe sighed. "Like I said Annie, you're fucking crazy."

Annie rolled her eyes as she dropped the board onto the pavement, hopping onto it as she rode towards the subway station. "I know."


	4. Chapter 3: The hunt down, down town!

As Annie stepped of the first set of train rides of, possibly many, she realized how overwhelmingly difficult this mission of hers was. Not because she was hunting for a literal needle in a haystack, no. It was because she only familiarized herself with the inklings and shopkeepers of Inkopolis plaza. Almost to the point where she can casually talk to all of them.

But this, this was different.

Downtown Inkopolis was like a completely different city to her. None of the faces there seemed familiar, and it didn't help her one bit that the one familiar face she knew, was the snarky ass fish that freeloads in her hair.

She stood there taking in the intimidating vista of the downtown station, one foot resting on her longboard. The view made her heart race.

"Yo, Annie." Moe poked his head out from her hair, shaking her from her trance. "Are we going to find this spiky moron or not?"

Annie gulped, pushing the board forward as she gently began cruising out of the station and out on the streets of downtown Inkopolis; darting past strangers left and right, with Moe tightly gripping one the locks of hair that protruded from her head. "Do you have any sort of plan for this?" Moe asked as they swerve past another inkling.

Annie sighed. "We're just going to look for him. Nothing more or nothing less."

"I'm taking that as a no."

"Essentially."

Moe clicked his teeth. "I know I said this already but y-"

"I know, I know. I'm 'fucking' crazy." Annie murmured. "But would there even be a plan of any sorts in the first place Moe? After all we are hunting down someone with no clue as to where they went."

"Well, why don't you ask people where that fool went." Moe rolled his eyes. "After all, you've clearly become more 'bold' with your statements over the years."

Annie suddenly stopped moving, placing a foot on the pavement. "A-about that…"

"About what?"

"I've grown more confident in what I say because… well…" Annie rubbed her arm. "Inkopolis plaza is my home… I know we're in the same city n'all but, all of this is... all so foreign to me."

Moe sighed. "God dammit Annie." He muttered, floating back into her hair.

"H-Hey! I'm sorry!" Annie blushed. "All of the scenery of downtown just has me overwhelmed."

"Ova'whelmed ya say?"

Annie and Moe froze for a moment at the unfamiliar voice, before turning to see that the voice was calling them came from behind a small stand beside them. Annie awkwardly shrugged. "Y-Yeah…"

A jellyfish popped up from behind the counter of the small stand, grinning at the two. "Y'must be from the rural bits of Inkopolis yea?"

"A-actually… I-I'm from the plaza." She picked up her longboard and walked up to the Jellyfish's stand. "Y-You know… Central Inkopolis… where the tower is."

"'eally!? Zat is ze thriving heart of our entire city!" The jellyfish leaned forward, resting one of his tentacles on the counter-top's wooden surface. "You shouldn't be zat intimidated by zis neck of ze woods!"

Annie nervously chuckled. "It's hard to explain really."

"So what brings you to zis neck of ze woods zen?"

Annie sighed. "Well… uhm… I'm looking for someone."

"Aaahhh!" His beady eyes widened. "You meeting up with a… eh… loved one? Like how you zay… a date? Non?"

Annie's face became flushed at that accusation, waving her hands in front of her now cherry red cheeks. "N-no, no!" Annie stuttered. "H-h-He's just a f-friend! I swear!"

The jellyfish laughed. "I am just pulling your leg ma cherie! Zere is no need to fret." He shifted his position so that both of his hands were now resting on his cheeks. "But I would love to help you find him if you don't know zis part of ze city all to well!"

Annie gulped. "Y-You would?"

"Certainly!" The jellyfish nodded his gelatinous head, his eyes smiling as he did so. "Anything for someone from ze heart from zis city of ours! So, what does zis fella of yours look like?"

Annie sighed. "W-Well u-uhm…" She awkwardly stroked the canvas backpack strap that clung to her shoulder. "He's a rather tall… A-and slender sea urchin. And uhm…"

"HE WEARS THIS GOOFY ASS PONCHO WITH KHAKIS." Moe shouted, a rather impatient tone was heard in his voice. Annie quickly grabbed Moe from her hair once more, grunting and whispering scolds at the fish. While she was distracted with the fish, The young stand merchant sifted through the magazines behind the countertop. It didn't take him long to find something that resembled what the two described.

"I zink I found something zat might help you two!" He chirped as he placed the magazine on the wooden countertop, catching the attention of the arguing duo almost immediately. Annie reached up and retrieved the booklet, carefully examining the cover of the glossy paper book. "He's been all ova the media today." The jellyfish piped up as he watched the sea anemone examine the magazine. "All ov my clients can't stop talking about him, zo it's completely obvious that he would be ze headline ov all ov the magazines I sell here."

"Oh my god…" Annie murmured, staring at the cover for another moment before looking back up at the jellyfish. "Did y-you happen to see him walk by… by a-any chance?"

"He probably walked by an hour ago…" The jellyfish stood there in thought for a moment. "Yeah… Yeah! I tried to say hi to him but he just walked by without saying a simple thing to him, If my memory doesn't fail me here… we used to be good friends a while back. Dude must me in a real funk if he can't stop to talk to a old amie from a couple ov years ago. I wonder what happened to Spyke…"

Annie cocked her head to the side. "S-Spyke?"

"Yeah!" The jellyfish smiled. "We used to meet up at Moray Towers with a couple ov other friends a long time ago, he could probably be zere right now if I zink about it… Yeah! Ze ink battles have been postponed within zat area since the area is under construction, Ze workers are slacking off since it's getting rather late, so the solitude zere is something he could possibly need at zis moment…"

"M-Moray Towers?"

The Jellyfish hummed. "I heard zat zey were adding ink rails zere to make ze battling zere more balanced and fair. But I digress." He nodded as he pointed at the magazine that Annie held. "By ze way, zat magazine is on ze house for you. You might need it to help you or something."

Annie blinked, a staring up at him for a moment before nodding. "A-Ah…" She smiled, rolling up the booklet. "Th-thanks for helping me mister…"

"Jaque." The jellyfish smiled. "And you are very welcome, mon amie."

Annie dropped her longboard, proceeding to skate off in the direction of the area that was mentioned, leaving behind the friendly jellyfish that ran that humble stand.

…

Annie stared up at the abandoned towers, coiled up magazine in one hand, and her longboard, firmly tucked beneath her other arm. She gawked at all of the cranes and lifts surrounding the building's main structure.

It was strange, really. The structural plan was never really 'Completed' as most of the iron beams that held the top portion up were still very much exposed. There were planks of wood on certain areas that workers could walk on but really, that was it. They most likely gave up building the corporate towers as soon as it became a hotspot for ink battles.

And now… They're building ink rails.

Nobody really knew where the Idea to add ink rails to certain battle rinks came from, but there were rumors that there was an Inkling who actually worked for the New Squidbeak Splatoon as an agent, who decided to bring a deactivated and detached ink rail from Octo Valley to Sheldon to see if he could reverse engineer the device so it could be used in the inkling's turf battles. But those were just rumors, and Annie usually didn't pay that much heed to them.

"How the hell are we going to get up there?"

Annie hummed at her sudden comrade's comment, ignoring him as her eyes scanned the area in front of her.

Moe leaned over her bangs, glaring at the anemone below him. "Hey!" He grunted. "Are you even listening to me nerd!? I said: 'How the hell are we going to get up th-"

"There." Annie pointed towards an off-white machine, slightly dirtied from the mud below it. "That lift there looks like it has a stepladder we could use to get up to at least the lowest bit of the rooftops."

"Well what are we waiting for! Let's GO already!" Moe moaned. "We've been out here ALL day!"

Annie turned around to see the sun setting over the city horizon, she could barely see Inkopolis tower over the sun's orange beams. "Yeah… I guess it is getting pretty late." She murmured as she turned back around, making her way towards the lift.

The sound of music could be faintly be heard from the top of the towers.


	5. Chapter 4: A More Formal Meeting!

Annie sat behind one of the radiators that lined the rooftops pavement. Catching her breath on the slightly angled ramp it sat on. She sighed, tracing her finger on the coarse pavement. She could feel her heart race as the faint sound of music and the rhythmic scraping of shoes against the pavement could be heard from up ahead. She hugged her knees to her chest as she tried to calm down.

"Hey loser." Moe hung over Annie's hair. "Are you going to go up there, or did coming here suddenly glue your ass to the pavement?"

Annie huffed. "I-I'm just exhausted." She said, resting her head on her arms. "That's all, I swear."

"Oh I see…" Moe rolled his eyes. "You aren't scared of talking to this spiky idiot, aren't you…"

"I-It's not-"

"Well I don't blame you." Moe scoffed, tucking himself back into Annie's hair. "He could've killed me earlier today you know, and then he probably would've hurt you at the least! He's a brute freak Annie! And he also has a shit fashion sense!"

"Moe…" Annie muttered.

"That better be the case Annie. I don't want that goof to make goo goo eyes at you, that would be hella creepy. Like I said, he's a poorly-dressed FREAK!"

Annie blushed. "M-Moe I think that's enough…" She stood up, straightening her tunic before she swung her bag over her shoulder once more, picking her longboard and the mint-condition magazine up off the radiator she was leaning back on. Moe groaned in relief as she stood up and gathered her stuff.

Annie stepped out of the way of the radiator and out into the evening sun's gleam once more. She stared up at the top of the shallow ramp, her eyes mainly focused on the moving silhouette that the sun almost flushed out. Annie hummed. "He's dancing again?" She muttered quietly, a bit surprised to see the somewhat embarrassed urchin doing the thing that somehow made him a bit self conscious about his interest in music.

"I thought he would stop after we caught him in the act." Moe bluntly added, making Annie silently scoff.

"We?"

"Pffft! Yeah WE!" Moe rolled his eyes again. "YOU were the one who recorded it after all!"

"I-I was going to delete it in the morning Moe!" Annie huffed once more. "YOU were the one who used MY phone without MY permission!" She shook her head and clicked her teeth. "I'm still a bit mad at you for that by the way…"

Moe sighed. "Ugh… Whatever." He buried himself deep within her hair. "Just get the loser and go home. I don't even care if you take him with us anymore… I mean I will care later but GOD do I want to get the fuck home right now."

Annie shook her head once more as she felt the fish curl up around one of her locks of hair. She gulped as she began to walk towards the top of the ramp, but before she could make it to the top of the ramp, there was a sudden gasp; followed by a quiet "oh shit" coming from the urchin. Annie placed a free hand over her mouth as she watched the tall figure fall over. "O-Oh my god!" She gasped, rushing over to Spyke as he struggled to sit up.

…

"A-Are you sure you're okay?" Annie stared at Spyke's scrapped arm and torn pant leg, a look of concern gleamed across her eyes.

Spyke chuckled. "Don't worry there love." Spyke reassured, giving her a playful smile. "Ol' Spyke is going to be just fine. It's only a couple of scrapes after all."

Annie's cheeks went slightly pink at the urchin's smile. "Spyke…" She muttered to herself, giggling a bit at the name.

"Somefin' funny 'ere, love?" Spyke cocked his head to the side, still wearing his smile.

"O-Oh… It's nothing." Annie rolled her eyes as she retrieved her bag from behind her, pulling out the bandages and her water bottle that she had been drinking out of the entire afternoon. "It's just… Well… Your name is nice. Spyke."

Spyke chuckled once more. "Well that's a bit sweet of ya, love. But I doubt my name wouldn't top yours." He sat there in thought for a moment, watching as Annie carefully removed the bandages from his hand. "What is your name anyways?"

Annie froze, biting her lower lip a little bit. "M-My name?" She looked up at Spyke, who kindly nodded. She gulped once more. "A-Annie." She stuttered. "My name is Annie."

"Annie." Spyke's eyes lit up in the orange light that surrounded the entire city. "Annie's such a lovely name."

Annie's face went cherry red once more as she quickly looked back down to his hand, and continued to remove the bandages. "Th-Thanks?"

"No problem." Spyke's grin grew, but quickly shrank once he noticed the water bottle that stood next to her. "Hey uh… Annie?" Spyke pointed at the water bottle with his opposite hand. "Are you gonna… finish that?"

"Oh! That?" Annie turned to look at the bottle of water, wadding up the stained bandages and setting them aside. "I guess not… Y-You can have it I suppose. I mean I do have ano-" Her voice trailed off as Spyke immediately snatched up the half empty bottle of water, biting off the cap before chugging its contents down. "I h-had another one… but… okay." She sighed as she retrieved the fresh bandages to wrap his hand wounds up with.

Spyke gulped the last mouthful of water before sighing, tossing the empty water bottle over the edge of the tower. "Thanks love." He panted. "You're really a lifesaver."

Annie ripped off the bandage wrap, patting the last bit of the adhesive onto his knuckles. "You're welcome." She tucked the bandages back into her bag and zipped it shut before looking back up at him. "Why were you out here anyways?"

"Oh yeah…" Spyke rubbed his fingers around the point of one of his spikes, his cheeks were slightly rosy. "About that... I was out here practicing."

"Practicing?"

"Yeah… I was originally planning to come here to hide away from all of the gossip about me n' such." Spyke crossed his arms. "And on my way I overheard a couple of squids saying that 'the Squid Sisters want me to enter the Calamari County Talent Contest.' and at first, I thought that they were gettin' their stuff from the wrong source. But when I checked Callie and Marie's archived podcast, they actually said that exact thing. I thought about it for the rest of my walk here until I decided."

"Decided on what?" Annie cocked her head to the side.

Spyke stared off into the sunset, a soft smile making its way onto his lips once more. "I decided to enter the competition."

Annie's eyes widened in shock. "What!?" Her voice wavered. "Y-You're entering that contest!? But what about… a-and… YOU'RE ENTERING THAT CONTEST!? "

Spyke laughed. "I have nothin' else to lose do I, love." He reached out and rustled the anemone's hair. "The whole dancin' spiel was the biggest secret I had. And now that It's out, I might as well go out and… well… dance."

"But I heard that contest Is held at the end of the month!" Annie leaned back forward, trembling a bit from this sudden turn of events. "Spyke that's in 10 days!"

"So it is." Spyke shrugged. "Is there any sort of problem wif it?" He rolled his eyes after he saw Annie frantically nodded. "I've already read the terms of entry and last minute entries are perfectly fine; I mean, I'm sure we'll be ready by the time entries close."

Annie froze. "We!?" She stood up, gesturing towards him as if he was acting strange. "I-I don't think we can dance together man! I-I mean- you're INSANELY tall and agile while I'm just-"

Spyke laughed once more, standing up to face her. "Trust me love, there ain't going to be any dancin' between you and I yet. But, I did have somefin else in mind." He sneered as he playfully flicked her nose. "YOU'RE going to be MY coach for this event!" He turned around and walked over to his phone and poncho, tucking the device into his pocket while tossing the knitwear over his shoulder, leaving Annie flabbergasted.

"W-Wait!" Annie stuttered, running towards the tall sea urchin. "You… You've gotta be joking right!? Right!? I-I mean the concept of me being a coach- the thought of it is just-"

"I've already made up my mind, love." He shrugged as he walked alongside the deliberating anemone. "Don't even think about leaving me behind on this either."

"B-But Spyke! I-I can't even coach even If I tried!"

"Well, That's because you haven't tried, have you, love."

"Uh… Uhhh-"

"That's what I thought." Spyke smirked, smugly walking down the tower before he felt a churning feeling in his stomach, making him blush slightly In embarrassment. "By the way… You wouldn't happen to have some money on ya, do you? I can go for just about anything right now, even if it is cheap."


	6. Chapter 5: Bunking up!

Annie sighed as the two pushed through the wide doorway of a small, yet extremely popular restaurant quite a ways from the towers. The events from earlier still rushed through her head, causing her to shiver a bit. 'A coach…' Annie pouted a bit. 'How can I be a coach for someone who's far more "confident" than I am? WHY did he think I can coach him through something like… like THIS?'

"Hey."

Annie shook her head as she looked up to Spyke, who stared down at her with a hint of concern on his face. "Is e'rything okay there, Annie?" He asked, a slight frown forming on his lips. "You've been dead silent since we left the work site of Moray Towers, love. Somefin buggin ya?" Annie sighed once more. "It's nothing Spyke." She muttered, her free hand gripped the backpack strap that still clung to her shoulder.

Spyke shrugged as he walked up to the counter and sat on one of the stools that lined it, signaling The anemone to come and sit in the vacant stool next to him. Annie reluctantly complied, dropping her longboard and bag on the floor next to the stool he wanted her to sit in, and climbed up the stool; taking a seat on it's firm wooden surface. Spyke gave her a warm smile before a young Inkling walked up to them from the opposite side of the counter, wearing a tacky outfit that was a bit tainted by sweat and grease.

"G'evnin you two!" The inkling piped up, pulling out a tiny notebook from her apron. "Can I get ya anything?" Spyke smiled, nodding as he placed his order. Annie watched as his eyes lit up, listing off certain entrees off the menu that struck him as something interesting. She smiled. He looked like a child at an Ice Cream parlor, ordering a quadruple scoop Ice cream cone with all of his favorite flavors. It was rather odd to see someone who was rather stoic in his alleyway for all these years act so… chipper and childish. Annie found the scene fairly amusing.

"What about you then, pinky?"

Annie snapped out of her trance, snapping her posture back as she noticed the inkling girl staring back at her. "I-I guess I'll have a small order of kelp fries." She said, nodding. "I'm not all too hungry anyways."

The Inkling smiled. "Okay so that's one more order of kelp fries adding your total up to…" she took a moment to review the booklet. "39.50!"

Annie nodded reaching down to her bag and pulled out the wad of money that she tucked into her bag earlier that day. Counting up and handing over the appropriate amount of money. "Keep the change." The inkling kindly accepted the notes, giving them a gracious smile. "Your order will be ready in about a half an hour!"

The pair watched as the girl walked away heading towards the back of the kitchen before Annie turned her head to Spyke, who was a bit too busy taking in the sites of the restaurant around him. "H-How many meals did you order, anyways?" Annie asked, poking Spyke's tender skin.

"I think I ordered about… 3 meals." He said, his eyes still scanning his surroundings. "I haven't eaten in like, a day to be fair. Like I said I could go for pretty much anything right now."

Annie rolled her eyes, propping her head up with her hand. 'How the hell am I going to be his coach…'

…

Annie's footsteps were heavy as she trudged up the stairs of home, dropping all of her things onto the floor once she reached the top, gasping and sighing as she finally removed the sweater that tied around her waist. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time. "11:30 pm." She muttered as she wiped one of her eyes, softly yawning as the sound of another pair of footsteps trudging up the stairs could be heard. She turned to see Spyke emerge from the archway that surrounded the top of the staircase. "So, I-I should get that guest room setup now huh?"

"Yeah… That would be alright." Spyke stretched, a plastic bag dangled from the tips of his fingers. "Thanks for lettin' me crash here with you, love." He let out a yawn before smiling. "Sometimes sleepin' on the concrete just kinda hurts… y'know?"

Annie chuckled, beginning her way towards the guest room. But before she could set up the bed in there, she stopped by her room to drop off Moe into his fish bowl and to grab a few spare blankets and pillows that were hidden in her closet.

She slowly opened her bedroom door, switching on the warm lights that were tucked in within the ceiling of her room. She ran her fingers through her hair, searching for Moe as she approached her bedside table, removing the sleeping fish from her locks and gently placing him in his bowl. Annie stared at him as he curled up at the bottom of the bowl, giving him a warm smiled as he continued to sleep. "It's been a long day, huh Moe." She muttered to him, staring at him before she moved to the closet to retrieve the bed set before rushing out of the room, careful not to wake him up.

She walked to another door that was just down the hall, trying her best to not trip over the blanket that dragged on the ground. She desperately held the wad of bedsheets and pillows as she reached for the doorknob, shoving the door open carefully.

The room was rather small. A small bed sat in the corner of the room with a window behaving as a backboard for the small bed frame. Annie walked over to the small mattress, quickly setting up the bed for Spyke; straightening the bed sheet as best as she could before she called his name. A short while later, Spyke appeared at the door frame, the plastic bag still dangled from his fingers. "These are my sleeping quarters, eh?" Spyke's eyes scanned the dimly lit room, nodding his head at what he could see. "Not too shabby, love."

Annie blushed as Spyke walked in and handed her the plastic bag. "Uhm…" Annie gulped as she took the bag. "Thanks…?"

Spyke chuckled at her response, walking over to his temporary bed and lounged on it, folding his hands on his chest, laying there for a moment before a thought came to him. "Yo, Annie?"

Annie, who already stood at the door frame, turned around to face Spyke, her cheeks still fairly red. "Y-Yeah?"

"I just had a thought." Spyke sat up. "About that little runt who… well… sprayed ink in my face."

"You mean Moe?"

"Yeah." Spyke swung his legs over the bed. "How do you think he'd cope with this whole… 'this dude broke into our home and now he's bunking with us' sort of thing."

Annie thought about it for a moment. "I don't know…" She shrugged, reaching for the doorknob of the cedar door. "I'll talk to him about it in the morning… I have no idea how he'll react though." She began to close the door. "Goodnight Spyke." Annie smiled as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

"G'night!"

Spyke sat alone in the dimly lit room, a gentle smile forming on his face. 'This is amazing…' He thought as he knocked on the wall behind him. His eyes scanned the dark room with awe. 'I haven't had a room to myself since I was sixteen…' He hummed, looking down to where his lap is. Blushing a bit at the thought of a thing he used to do when he had a room to himself.

He stood up and slowly began to remove his clothing, his heart racing as he removed his poncho and tanktop; praying that Annie wouldn't immediately come back to check up on him. He sharply breathed in as he quickened his disrobing process, kicking off the slip-ons that always adorned his feet so it would be easier for him to remove his trousers. He stared at the door for a moment before he proceeded to grab a hold of the waistband of his pants and his underwear; quickly removing them and tossing them to the side.

The now exposed sea urchin leaped onto the bed, throwing the bed sheets over his slender form. He giggled as he buried his face into the fresh smelling pillow. It's been YEARS since he felt this comfortable when going to sleep. 'Annie's such a nice person for letting me crash here for a bit after what happened this morning.' He thought as he pulled the comforter over his shoulder, reminiscing on everything that happened that evening. It made him happy that someone treated him like another creature within Inkopilis and not like some asshat who just treated him like trash after they didn't get a perfect roll on their gear, as if it was his fault that they had a bit of a gambling addiction at such a young age. He was treated like a genuine friend despite his previous actions, and that really flattered him.

Spyke smiled as he drifted off to sleep, looking forward to talk to Annie a bit more the next morning.


	7. Chapter 6: Awkward Comforting?

"EXCUSE ME WHAT !?"

"Moe calm down… he's probably still asleep!"

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT IF HE'S STILL SLEEPIN' OR NOT WHY ARE YOU LETTING HIM LIVE WITH US!?"

"Moe i-it won't be for long I promi-"

"I DON'T CARE, ANSWER THE QUESTION!"

Spyke moaned as the arguing pair from down the hall dragged him out of his slumber, dragging his hand across the silky blanket until he found his hand on his forehead, gently caressing it until his vision steadied. He hummed as he sat up, letting the blanket slide down his bare chest and piling up over his hands, which now rested on his lap.

He blinked, trying to filter out the bickering that went on outside of the guest room by examining what was inside of it; since there was enough light in it to see now. The walls were a faded denim blue, a rather tacky yet soothing color to chose for a wall color in his opinion, with even tackier curtains to boot. By closer examination through the dust that gathered on them, they were a faded yellow with a lace like pattern on the bottom of them. Both of the windows in the room also had a set of blinds in case the dingy yellow curtains needed a wash, or when curtains rack were to fall over.

The bed frame had a cherry red finish to the wood, adding a minimalist touch to the room along with its basic shape, and was quite frankly the most bearable part of the room other than the blinds. There was also a lamp, sitting on a side table with the exact same finish. Upon closer inspection, Spyke quickly figured out that it didn't even have a lightbulb in it despite being plugged in.

Before Spyke's eyes could scan the room once more, a soft gentle whirring sound caught his attention; eyes immediately landing on the wadded pair of pants on the floor. The short, gentle vibration usually meant that Spyke received a special order request from someone in the plaza. But Spyke knew that inklings haven't ordered anything from him for quite a while, sparking curiosity as to what the notification was for. Spyke began to leave to bed to retrieve his phone, quickly stopping in a sudden reminder of his current state.

He was naked.

Very, very naked.

Spyke gulped, holding the blanket around his waist as he lept out of bed, kneeling down to the wadded pants searching for his phone. A short while later, he yanked the phone out of his pocket, quickly returning to the bed with the object in hand.

Pulling the blanket back over his exposed body, Spyke unlocked his phone, curious to see who these notifications came from.

Spyke hummed, noticing that the notification came from someone he, for once, added to his phone. He stared at the contact name in a bit of confusion, mouthing out the name as his eyes slowly scanned the contact. "Jaque…" he hummed once more, reluctantly opening the contact and read the text this person sent them.

"Salut mon amie! I saw you walk by my stand yesterday in a bit of a funk. Is everything alright?"

Spyke scrunched his eyebrows, deciding to go along with this person's concern as he slowly composed a response.

"Yeah, I guess I feel a bit better now." Spyke typed, slowly considering a second half of his response. "I'm sorry if I sound rude or anything but… do I know you or anything?"

A short while after sending the message, he got a response.

"Ah! Sorry, it's been a long time since we kept in touch! It's your old friend Jaque!"

"Jaque…" Spyke muttered, trying to pull up a past memory of the name. As he did so, the two continued their text conversation until heavy footsteps could be heard by his door, Spyke gulped, frantically typing one last message before locking up his phone.

Annie stormed into the guest room, slamming the door shut before she collapsed by the bedside, startling Spyke as she proceeded to sob into the mattress. He leaned back at the scene, briefly examining the wretched state of his new friend before reaching out to caress her head in an attempt to comfort her. "I'm assuming that little bugger isn't taking this whole situation all too well, huh love?"

Annie looked up at Spyke, her cerulean eyes shimmered from the tears forming in them. She nodded, gently removing Spykes large hand from the top of her head, sliding it down to her damp cheeks in hopes of him trying to comfort her further. Spykes cheeks went slightly red at this action, but proceeded to try to comfort her the best he could despite the inconvenience of her barging into his room while he wasn't dressed. "It's going to be okay, Annie."

Annie shook her head, gripping Spykes hand tighter as she buried her face into it, using it as some sort of sponge to absorb her cries. "N-no it w-wont." She whimpered. "M-Moe has done nothing but chastise me for most of the morning for having you stay here. I-I don't know what to do…"

Spyke sighed, looking around the room before he returned his gaze to Annie, wiping away her tears with his thumb. "Well…" he began, moving his hand down to her chin, moving her head up so her eyes directly met his. "Me mum used to tell me: 'Spyke, if ye going to cry, den do it kiddo. You won't figure anyfin out if ya just keep everyfin bottled up.' I used to ignore it when I was a tyke but when I got older, I took 'er advice ta heart." He smiled at her. "Nofin much is gonna come in mind if yer not gonna let sum of those emotions come through. After all ya do think better with a clear head."

Annie whimpered as Spyke removed his hand from her chin, giving her a gentle pat on her head. Her eyes still stared up at Spyke as he comforted her. "S-spyke…" She muttered, grabbing his wrist, stopping him from pulling away from her, wiping away her tears with her other hand. "T-thanks for the advice… I-I guess…" She released his hand, standing up as she continued to wipe her tears away.

Spyke stared at Annie as she straightened out the skirt of her nightgown, holding the hand she once held to his bare chest. "Y-you're welcome…?"

Annie forced a smile on her lips. "I-I'll try to talk to Moe again i-in a bit." She muttered. "If you want you can… t-talk to him with me?"

Spyke sat there in thought, recalling the events that occurred yesterday morning. Sighing as he pulled the blanket up around his chest, tucking it between his arms. "I suppose. If it'll settle the score between you and that lil' runt, I'll help."

Annie's smile grew a bit, hopping up onto the bed and gave him a quick embrace. Her head resting against the soft skin of his chest. "T-thank you so much Spyke…" she muttered as she nestled her face into his chest, making him blush in retaliation. "You're welcome love…" Spyke stroked the top of her head before pushing her away from him a bit. "But ah… you mind giving me a minute or two first? I-I… well…" There was a pause, causing Annie to hum. "I kinda need ta get dressed."

Annie cocked her head to the side, her eyes eventually trailing down to the floor where she noticed clothing sprawled out on the rug. She gulped as her face became red in a bit of realization. "O-oh!" Annie pushed herself off of Spyke, edging herself to the opposite side of the single person bed. "I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't know you were-" She squeaked as she fell off the other side of the bed, immediately standing up once more, straightening out her night gown once more in a bit of a frantic manner.

Spyke's eyes widened in shock. "O-Oh god! Are you okay there love?"

Annie gulped once more, quickly making her way towards the room's door. "I-I'm okay!" She stuttered out, rubbing the back of her head in extreme embarrassment. "J-Just come to the kitchen in a little bit so you can talk to Moe. O-Okay?"

Before Spyke could answer, Annie slipped through the door slamming is as she took off. He stared at the door for a moment before flopping back in the bed, trying to collect what just happened.

…

Spyke trudged down the hallway as he tried to fix his disheveled clothing, pulling down on his tank top with one hand while the other focused on holding up his pants. He turned around the corner that led out to the dining area, sighing as he approached the table, doing up his fly the best he could.

Moe rolled his eyes, turning around to face Annie as he leaned over the rim of his fishbowl. "What the hell is this about?"

Annie sighed. "We need to talk."

"We?"

"Yeah." Spyke pulled out the chair he stood closest to, quickly taking a seat in it and quickly made himself comfortable. He looked over to Annie, whose appearance also looked somewhat disheveled. Her bloodshot, sad eyes looked over to Spyke, still seeking the comforting he gave her a while ago. The tone and mood within her irises conveyed a conflicting and resemblance to the colors on her "ABXY" t-shirt. He gave her a subtle nod before returning to Moe, his gaze turning into a sharp glare as he continued to speak. "Do you know how much you hurt Annie just a short while ago, mate?"

"Pffft." Moe rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Why would her emotions even matter to you in the first place?"

Spyke sighed. "Because I consider her a friend." He placed his hand on his chin, propping his head up as he leant forward. "A friend that 'aint worthy of this sort of treatment."

"Excuse me?"

Spyke shrugged as he continued on with his ranting. "I mean she provides you a home an' you literally take it for granted, mate. You treat 'er and every other bloke out there in the plaza the same way. Like literal trash. I've actually seen customers leave this shop in tears due to your rambling and insults."

Moe huffed. "Yeah? So? Those losers weren't even fresh enough to be in this city to be honest."

"So what you're telling me is this…" Spyke leaned back in his chair. "If the blokes you treat like garbage are the blokes you think shouldn't be in this city. Then does that mean you don't want Annie to take care of you because she wasn't 'fresh enough.' " He shook his head in disgust. "That is some fuckin' proposterous shit goin' on in your mind if that's what you're trying to tell us here."

Moe moaned, turning his whole body towards Annie. "You're both joking here, right?"

Annie sighed. "Spyke's right you know." She awkwardly shuffled in her seat. "Over the past two or so months you've been scaring away customer after customer. And the main reason why I can't hire a damn plumber is because I'm afraid you'll scare them off because they smell gross or something."

Moe hopped up onto the rim of his bowl, pointing one of his fins at Spyke. "OH I WOULDN'T MIND A PLUMBER AS LONG IS THIS FUCK IS IN OUR HOME. HE SMELLS FUCKING ABYSMAL ANNIE. A-BYS- MAL ."

Annie firmly placed her hands on the table. "Moe this is what we mean!" Her eyes began to water up once more. "You NEVER consider anyone else's feelings whenever you open your mouth! Hell, You probably still think that Spyke is going to kill the two of us!"

Spyke sighed as he stood up, walking over to the other side of the table to comfort Annie once more. "Annie, love." He gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're getting a bit worked up."

Moe glared at Spyke as the urchin comforted his owner. "DON'T TOUCH ANNIE YOU CREEP!"

"MOE STOP!" Annie shouted, tears beginning to run down her cheeks once more.

"Alright." Spyke walked over to the fishbowl, snatching it up while shoving Moe back into his bowl. "This is clearly not going to go anywhere." He briskly walked down the hall to Annie's room, firmly placing the bowl on Annie's bedside table.

Spyke stepped back, glaring harshly at Moe as he popped his head out of the glass bowl once more. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you!?" Spyke leaned forward, placing his hands on his hips.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME!?" Moe returned Spyke's glare. "MORE LIKE WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU! DO NOT TOUCH ANNIE LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN!"

Spyke just rolled his eyes, turning around and headed towards the door. "Whatever." He said as he began to close the door. "We're not getting anywhere if you keep spouting out shit that you think is rational. I'll just leave you be." Spyke grumbled as he closed the door behind him, walking back to the dining area where Annie was.

He suddenly stopped when he noticed Annie crying once more, noticing that she was gritting her teeth and clenching her hands into a tight fists until she went white knuckled. He sighed, approaching the angered anemone, his heart slightly trembling at the scene before him. "A-Annie… Are you alright?"

Annie sighed, loosening the tightness of her clenching. "I-I don't even know anymore." She sniffled, lowering her head in defeat. "Moe is acting worse than he was a while ago."

Spyke frowned, walking over to Annie and wrapped his arms around her from behind, allowing his hands to gently rest on the table in front of him whilst keeping a warm connection with her. "Yeah…" He sighed, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I just hope he gets used to me bein' here real soon love. After all, it's only nine more days 'till the competition and he'll be stuck with us on the way there n' back." He growled at the thought of Moe hurting Annie's feelings when the three of them were out and about on unfamiliar turf. He clicked his teeth before he continued. "And I don't want to see you upset 'nymore y'know. Especially when we're out an' about in Calamari County."

Annie blushed at his previous statements, her hands now gently flattened out against the table; feeling a bit calmer than she was a few seconds ago. She sat there in thought for a moment, thinking of something to change the topic so the two wouldn't press on any further with this never ending situation with Moe. "S-Spyke?"

Spyke's eyes shifted downwards, his lips slightly curling upwards as he heard her voice pep up a little bit. "Yes, love?" He hummed.

"Y-You think you can get some water from the mini-fridge downstairs?" Annie muttered.

"Why?"

"Because…" Annie shrugged. "I was thinking that we would just watch some movies or something to take our minds off of this whole fiasco, and I don't even want to get close to the kitchen right now… As I was bringing Moe over here for a talk, that room smelled… pretty bad."

"Ah." Spyke stepped away from Annie, warmly smiling at her before turning around and walking towards the stairwell. "Sure thing, Love!"

Annie turned around in her chair, sighing as she watched the urchin trudge down the stairs. She had some sort of feeling that these next couple of days were going to be the longest she's ever endured. And deep within those feelings, she knew that he felt the same way about this whole situation.

And with Moe's constant bitching and complaining, those long days are going to be even longer than anticipated.


	8. Chapter 7: Time to Freshen up!

Annie yawned as she leaned on Spyke's bare arm, pulling the blanket she had been gently wrapped up in for seemingly hours tighter around her body. She gently placing her sock covered feet on the coffee table, trying her best not to kick over the leftovers from the previous night. "Yo… Spyke?" She muttered nudging the urchin next to her. "You awake man?"

Spyke moaned as he groggily lifted his head up, wiping the sleepiness out of his exposed eye. "Now I am…" He rolled his shoulders as he looked down at Annie, boredom glazing her blue eyes. "Wot's the matter, love? What time is it?"

Annie sighed, pulling out her phone that was tucked away in her pocket. "It's like… 5:30-ish dude. You've been out for like six hours." She gently hugged his forearm, blushing softly. "We've been watching movies all day."

He chuckled, gently pushing Annie away from him, examining her face in the dim light. "Well… it seems like you were the one who did all the one doing all of the watching, love. I just kinda… dozed, y'know?" He smiled, hearing a small giggle escape Annie's lips. "But that really doesn't matter… What matters is if you feel better." He cocked his head to the side, letting out a hum as he scanned the caked on tear stains on her cheeks. "So… Do you?"

Annie weakly smiled, giving him a small nod. "Y-Yeah." She muttered. "I definitely feel better than I did this morning."

"Das good." He slurred as he stood up, stretching out his back, his shins gently bumping the coffee table. "I guess that means we can get to practicin' now, right?"

Annie stood up, gently tossing the portion of the blanket that wrapped around her onto the couch. "I suppose…" She placed her hands on her hips and rolled her shoulders. "We're going to need to move the furniture around a bit so you could have a bit more room. You mind helping out?"

Spyke turned to Annie, giving her a wide grin. "Sure, thing!" He nodded walking over to the armrest of the couch closest to him. "Should we start by movin' the sofa first, love?" Annie hummed in response, quickly moving to the side of the couch that was adjacent to Spyke.

Before they proceed to move the couch, Annie noticed something on Spyke's tank top, catching her a bit off guard, releasing her end of the couch and walking over to the urchin, making him release his grip on his end. "Hm…?" He hummed as the anemone walked up to him. "Somefin botherin' you love?"

"I-It's your shirt." Annie pointed at the black garment of clothing. "It has stains all over it."

Spyke quickly looked down at his shirt, noticing that were stains all over it. All of which were from the leftovers he and Annie indulged themselves on for lunch earlier that day. He sighed, his shoulders subtly drooping. "Shit." He sighed. "This was my only shirt too…" he scoffed as he stretched out the fabric to examine the stains at full. "You think you have anything to get these stains out?"

Annie nodded. "I might have something that could help. But…" Annie walked closer to Spyke, pulling his shirt down. "Don't take it off yet. Please ." She looked away, her cheeks a soft shade of red. "I've already seen enough of your body t-today…"

Spyke blushed at her pleads, but obliged anyways, releasing the cloth from his grip. "Well what are we going to do then?"

Annie stood there in thought for a moment, before grabbing Spyke by one of his wrists and dragged him down to the store floor of the building, picking up her boots on the way out. Spyke just stared forward, his long legs easily keeping up with Annie and her significantly shorter ones. He gulped, feeling his bare feet graze against the concrete of the sidewalk outside. "A-Annie! What are you doing there love!?"

Annie slowed down so she can turn around to face Spyke as she continued to rush over next door. "I'm taking you to see Jelonzo." She said, making a turn towards a pair of sliding doors. "So you won't be running around in the nude as you wait for your clothing to be clean."

Spyke blushed as he was guided into the pristine store, his soles absorbing the cold masonry that he stood on. He panted as he watched Annie approached the proprietor, trying to gain his attention.

"E-Excuse me!" Annie called out to the jellyfish behind the counter top, who was folding up new shirts he received earlier in the week.

The jellyfish looked up from his work, his eyes lit up when he noticed the familiar face approach him. "Annie, friend!" He chirped, leaping over the countertop. "It had been a while since you've done the visiting!"

"Yeah." She huffed. Letting out a small kackle at the Jellyfish's dialect. "Sorry about that Jelonzo."

Jelonzo laughed. "There is no problem!" He walked up to her. "What brings you to the shop, friendo?"

"I'm here with a friend who needs new clothing, and I'm hoping that you can help out."

"Hm?"

Annie leaned close to Jelonzo, gesturing towards Spyke in a nonchalant manner. "He only has one set of clothing in all. And his shoes are all worn out."

Jelonzo looked over Annie's shoulder, gently pushing her aside as he walked up to Spyke, who was already seated on one of the in-store benches. His beady eyes scanned his tarnished pants and his stained shirt before firmly nodding. "What name do you have, Sir?"

Spyke cocked his head to the side as he heard the oddly spoken jellyfish speak to him, but shrugged anyways as he proceeded to answer. "'Name's Spyke mate…" He leaned back as he noticed the jellyfish staring him straight in the eye. "Ahh…" He hummed. "What are you doing?"

Jelonzo pulled away. "I give an apology, sir!" He gave him a reassuring smile. "But your eyes burns with the fresh of a hundred inklings! I got just the clothing for the style!" Jelonzo ran off towards the back of his shop. "I'll even call in the assistance for the feet wear!"

Annie and Spyke watched as the gelatinous store owner vanished into the storeroom of the shop, before Spyke turned to Annie, a confused look on his face. "Are…" He cocked his head to the side. "Are the other proprietors of the Booyah Base, always this weird?"

Annie shrugged. "I'm pretty sure Jelonzo is the only one who could be considered... 'weird.'"

Spyke sighed. " Oh thank god. "

…

"So… how looking is the clothing, Spyke?"

"I personally enjoy that style on you, urchie!"

Annie sighed as she walked up to the two fashion designers, gently pushing them aside as they gawked over Spyke. "You two need to stop hovering over him." She said as she watched Spyke check himself out in the full body mirror. "H-He needs time to take the look in."

The tall shrimp on her left chuckled patting her head in a playful manner. "Sorry, kid!" He widely grinned. "This is the first time we were given such a tall order, y'know."

"Yeah!" Jelonzo chimed in. "I'm surprised that all of the stuff did the fitting!"

"I think this looks pretty tight." Spyke turned to face the three shop proprietors. "'Might be my favorite outfit of em' all." He stepped off the elevated platform the mirror sat on and walked over to the three, bending over to meet Annie's line of sight. "But I wanna know what you think, love. This was your idea after all."

Annie's eyes carefully examined Spykes ensemble as he stood up straight. He wore a bright white t-shirt with a jagged, bright purple line extending from his left shoulder to his right hip, with white slim jeans to match his shirt; all of which seemed rather unfamiliar to her until her eyes looked down to his footwear. A large pair of Squid-Stitched slip-ons, to compliment the outfit as a whole. After scanning the outfit once more before gulping, her cheeks flushed a bright red color. "I-I think it's my favorite too."

Jelonzo looked over to Annie, noticing her rosy cheeks. "Annie, friend!" He giggled. "Your cheeks are riper than a squidmato! Are you feeling the okay?"

Annie pushed Jelonzo away from her. "S-Shush!"

The tall shrimp adorned with shoes turned to his side to see Annie bury her face in her hands. "He's gotta point though." He laughed. "Did Judd catch your tongue or somethin' Ann?"

"I-It's none of your business Sean…"

Her awkward response made the shrimp proprietor laugh even harder, making Annie burry her face into her t-shirt, dropping down to her knees as she did so. Seeing this scene made Spyke chuckle, his hand gently grazed his lips as his eyes glowed. "You okay there, love." He said between laughs.

"Hey, Spyke pal!"

Spyke turned his head to see that Jelonzo was already at the other side of the shop, holding something he just tore off the rack in excitement. "Catch this!" The jellyfish wadded up the garment, throwing it across the store, having it miraculously land at the urchin's feet. Spyke hummed as he bent over, picking up the garment that Jelonzo threw at him. His eyes widened at what it was. "No fuckin' way, mate…" A giddy smile grew on his lips, catching the attention of the other two proprietors.

Spyke slipped on the garment, which happened to be a jacked, quickly hopping up on the platform again to check himself out once more. "Holy shit…" He muttered as he turned back around to the proprietors. "I haven't owned a Black Inky Rider Jacket since year eleven of grade school. It's just as badass as I remember it bein'!"

"I knew you would have the liking to it, pal!" Jelonzo ran up to him, hopping up onto the platform and posed in front of him, as if he was showing off a proud piece of artwork that he just finished. "What do the two think of the addition of the flare?"

Crusty Sean nodded. "It looks fresh, Jelonzo! Urchie here looks like an irresistible magnet with that Jacket on!" He then turned to Annie, shooting her a smug look. "Ain't that right Ann?"

Annie gulped as she fumbled out a response. "Y-Yeah… H-He looks nice…"

The tall shrimp laughed as he hopped up onto the same platform as Spyke and Jelonzo. "Yeah, yeah… So nice in fact, I think we should do a bit of a photoshoot of urchie here. What do you think?" He smirked at the urchin, playfully punching him on the shoulder.

"I-I guess…" Spyke sheepishly chuckled as he rubbed the spot that was punched. He turned to face Annie. "Hey love!" He called out to get Annie's attention. "Could 'ya take the pictures for these two?"

Annie gulped once more. "U-Uhm… S-Sure!" She pulled out her phone and opened up her camera application.

Sean cheered in excitement. "Yes!" He clapped his claws together. "Yo, Jelonzo! Turn up the music a'rite?"

"You got it Crusty!" Jelonzo nodded, rushing to the back of the store once more. "The music will be the louder than before!"

…

Spyke leaned back on the wooden bench, letting out a heavy, exhausted sigh, allowing the shopping bag he held to slide off his hand. "Well…" He said, rolling his shoulders. "That was an experience."

Annie sighed, leaning back on the wooden bench as well, awkwardly chuckling at her friends somewhat uncomfortable position. "Yeah… It certainly was."

"You think those blokes might post those online or somefin?"

"Probably…" She shrugged. "But it would probably for advertising purposes if anything."

"How did they even turn out?"

"Fine." Annie said as she placed the bags that she held onto the empty spot next to her. "At least, that's what I took from Jelonzo and Sean's reactions to what I sent them."

"Ah." Spyke twiddled his thumbs in a moment of silence before speaking up once more. "So… Should we head back to your flat and start practice for that competition."

"I-In a bit." Annie folded her hands in her lap. "I still need to catch my breath from all of that."

"Catch your breath?" Spyke hummed, propping himself up in a more comfortable sitting position. "For a coach you surely get winded easily from doin' nofin, huh love?"

Annie sighed. "I-It's hard to explain." She looked up at the evening sky, trying not to delve into the topic any further.

Spyke noticed Annie's awkward demeanor and chuckled. "S'matter love?" He playfully nudged her shoulder. "Did my freshness catch your fancy?"

Annie slapped Spyke's arm, shooting him a glare as her cheeks became red once more. " S-Spyke! "

Spyke heaved over, letting out a guttural laugh. "I'm only jestin' ya love! Don't take it as a serious pickup line or somefin like that."

"W-Whatever." Annie stuttered as she stood up, picking up the shopping bags she carried with her. "L-lets just head back and start your practice."

" Yesssssss. " Spyke clapped his hands as he stood up, grabbing the bag that he left on the pavement and walked back to Cooler Heads with Annie.


	9. Chapter 8: Enter Calamari County!

The next five days was a continuous cycle of practicing, and trying to calm Moe down around Spyke.

The mornings started off with Annie dragging herself out of bed to tell Moe about the upcoming event that they were preparing to leave for very soon and he had to be on his best behavior while he was with her and Spyke while they were away from inkopilis, much to his dismay.

Then after the short quarrel, she would get dressed and head down to Spyke's room to see if he was awake yet, mostly he already was out in kitchen; fully dressed and making coffee with some of the bottled water supply. But when he wasn't Annie would walk over to his bedside, and gently shake him awake. Usually earning an annoyed moan or two before he actually sat up.

The two would talk for a short while before she left his room, in order for him to get dressed. And after a quick morning meal, Annie would head with Spyke outside to the plaza and force him to warm up his body by jogging around the area for a while.

Later on they would head back to the apartment and moved the furniture around so Spyke could practice his routine.

It was basically like this for every single day. And finally the two were taking a break from it all today.

Because today was the day that they were heading out to Calamari County, a trip that would last about seven train rides, each ride ranged between about an hour and a half to two hours. A trip that's truly exhausting conceptually.

Fortunately, this was their fifth train ride and judging by the sun peeking over the horizon, It would be fairly dark by the time they arrived.

Annie sighed as she gently rolled her suitcase back and forth with one hand while she held her phone in the other, using the free wifi the locomotive provided for… well… free. She scrolled through her Squitter feed, reading each and every post she was tagged in wishing her and Spyke luck with their endeavors within the county.

"Hey Annie! I heard the news that you and Spyke are heading to Calamari! I'll be watching the feed of the talent competition live and I wish the two of you the best! You OWN it Spykie!"

"Annie! Jelonzo and Crusty Sean told me everything that has been happening for the past few days! No wonder why you haven't been talking to me in a while! And I've always wanted to go to Calamari too to learn more about their history and such… But I digress! Keep me and the other proprietors updated okay?"

"Hey Annie! Give my warm regards to Spyke for me! I'm still flabbergasted that my old friend is actually entering that competition! Have fun in Calamari!"

"Hah! Rumors spread fast now don't they? Good luck to you two, Annie and Spyke!"

Annie chuckled, she was so far away from home by now. But reading all of those posts made her feel at home. With all of her friends and clients cheering her and her friend on. It made her feel better about the situation as a whole. She kept scrolling through the feed until she stopped on a certain post that struck a somewhat familiar articulation.

"OMG! Marie just told me that you two were trending on squidder, and I just HAD to check it out only to see that you're ACTUALLY COMING TO CALAMARI! I CAN'T wait to meet you both!"

Annie then turned to Spyke, who was staring at the scenery outside the window of the train. "Hey." Annie reached out and shook the arm that Spyke was using to hold up his head as he daydreamed. "It looks like the Squid Sisters caught wind of our trip."

Spyke looked away from the scenery and turned his gaze towards Annie, who pushed her phone towards him. He looked down at the device and hummed. "I wonder why she was so surprised about us coming. Weren't they the ones who basically told me to enter over a live broadcast?"

Annie nodded. "Yeah." She pulled the phone back towards her so she could reread the post.

"That Callie chick isn't always the brightest of the dimwitted bunch y'know." Moe flopped out of the anemone's hair, half of his body hung over her head.

"Moe…" Annie sighed.

"Sorry but I'm only stating the truth here!"

"Why are you awake anyways? I thought you told me to wake you up once we got to our destination."

"I was woken up by that prick's stupid voice."

"But he wasn't speaking all too loud."

"Whatever…" Moe burrowed himself back into Annie's hair.

Annie sighed as she felt the fish curling up in her hair. Her eyes trailed back up to Spyke as he went back to gazing out the window. "Hey Spyke…" She cocked her head to the side. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah… I'm fine." Spyke tapped his fingers against the table that sat between the two of them. "It's just been a long week, love… the vista out there just… it just calms me down. Y'know?"

Annie's eyes trailed towards the direction Spyke was staring, only to become quickly mesmerized by the scenery outside as well. "Huh." Annie propped her head up with her arm in a similar fashion as Spyke. "I see what you mean…"

She had never seen a sunset outside of Inkopilis before, but she always appreciated the orange glow of its dim lighting and how it kindly peeked around the tall buildings. The most she usually saw was from over the train station, or from the top of Moray Towers like she saw a couple nights ago. But this was different. There were absolutely no obscurities that hid the evening's sky. No towers, let alone no buildings could be seen from miles all around. Just an open field with the occasional bushel of trees and a wide stream of water trailing off into the distance.

It was beautiful.

Annie absentmindedly reached for her phone and opened her camera application, promptly holding the phone up towards the window. She quickly snapped a few pictures, hoping that the shutter sound won't break Spyke from his trance.

"Eh… Love?"

Annie quickly slammed her phone down on the train table, her cheeks a soft pink. "Y-Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"I was just…" Annie paused, gulping before she continued on with her answer. "... Taking pictures of the sunset. I-I'm sorry if I distracted you… or anything."

Spyke sat there for a moment before letting out a chuckle. "It's nofin worth worryin' about love. Trust me." He rested both of his hands under his chin. "In fact, I can help ya out a lil' if you need it." Before Annie could respond to his proposal to help, he moved towards the window, gripping a propped out bit of the window frame and began to slide it open. A sudden rush of fresh air tousled her hair around a little as she watched Spyke open the window. He turned his head towards her with a warm grin. "Ya going to take those pictures or not love?"

Annie sighed as she grabbed her phone once more and stuck her head out the window along with Spyke. "You know love..." Spyke grinned, inhaling the clean air of the outdoors. "I've been dying to get fresh air all day!" He laughed. "Hopping from train to train all day makes ya miss this kind of thing, y'know?"

Annie snapped a picture on her phone before she turned to the cheerful urchin, watching him as he basked in the evening glow. There was something about his behavior that made Annie's blush grow somewhat darker. He, according to the inklings that visited her store, was usually a brooding individual with a somewhat silver tongue; and was found to be intimidating by many of them who mentioned him. She saw where that silver tongue bit came from, but other than that he was a completely different character despite the fact he sort of… broke into her store out of rage. But he seemed to be mostly over the initial incident by this point, that's what Annie hoped. She also hoped that she would never confront him about who initially recorded the video that has gone viral. She would be torn if he could never see her the way he does now if he found out that she recorded the video. The very thought of that situation tearing them apart made her heart race.

She didn't want that to happen.

Brushing her thoughts aside, she pointed her phone camera towards Spyke, taking a picture of him as he stared out to the sunset.

…

Callie and Marie anxiously sat at the train station, the two of them wore simple kimonos to reflect the traditional culture of the county. It was nearly two in the morning, but that didn't kill their excitement for them one bit. At least for Callie.

"Marie are you sure they're arriving on this train?" Callie, kicked her feet as she gripped the wooden bench, clearly trying to hold in her excitement.

Marie sighed. "For the tenth time Callie, they are. " She slouched back onto the hard wooden frame.

"Are you sure that you're sure though?"

"Callie…"

"I'm sorry!" Callie giggled. "I'm just super excited, I just can't wait for them to arrive!"

"Yeah. I can tell."

"Awh! Marie what's up!? I thought you were excited too!"

"I was excited about it a few hours ago." Marie rolled her eyes. "But after hearing that those two had at least three delays doesn't help my excitement whatsoever. To be honest I'd rather be back at our room at the hotel trying to get some shut eye right now."

"But Marrriiiiieeeee!~ We've already greeted all the other contestants who came here today! It would be unfair to leave one contestant hanging! Especially the one WE recommended!"

Marie sighed in defeat, rolling her eyes at her cousin's pleas. "Whatever…" She muttered. "I just hope they enjoy the gifts we got 'em. We had to go though a lot to get those wrapped up."

"Oh, pfch!" Callie gently patted the decorated boxes next to her. "I'm sure they'll love them!"

Marie forced a small smile on her lips, sitting up a bit as she looked over to her cousin. She couldn't stay that mad at her, despite the fact she was the only reason that kept the two of them at the train station late into the night. "Hope so."

A bell could be heard nearby the tracks of the train station, followed by a loud whistle, making Callie hop out her seat, squealing loudly as she watched the train pull into the station. "They're HERE!" She hopped up and down, clapping her hands. "C'mon Marie! Let's go say hi!"

Before Marie could say anything, Callie sprinted towards the train, her wooden sandals making loud clicking noises as her feet slammed the concrete flooring below her. Marie's eyes trailed over to the presents that Callie was supposed to hand them. She sighed, standing up and picking up the boxes on the other side of the bench, following Callie who was already greeting the familiar urchin and anemone that just walked off of the train, sluggishly dragging their luggage out behind them.

Once Marie approached them, she bowed her head. "You must be Spyke and Annie, Yes?" The urchin and anemone nodded, making Marie sigh in relief. "We've been waiting all evening for your arrival." She held the boxes forward, giving them a warm smile. "These are for you two by the way."

Spyke cocked his head to the side. "Really, huh?" He stared down at the boxes as he took hold of them.

"Yes." Marie stepped back, giving the two a full, formal bow. "You can open them tomorrow. After all, it is extremely late."

"Yeah…" Annie yawned. "But where do we go…?"

"We've rented out hotel rooms for our contestants at an inn nearby." Callie clapped her hands together. "We can help guide you there for tonight and help you get settled in!" She reached out, grabbing Spyke's luggage. "C'mon Marie!"

Marie yawned, grabbing a hold of Annie's luggage, assisting Callie with escorting the two to the building in question.


	10. Chapter 9: Their day out!

Spyke groggily stirred as he forced himself awake, moaning as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. The sheets that covered him up to his shoulders slid down into his lap. He squinted as his eyes scanned the small sunlit room.

The room was rather humble in its size, containing bare necessity a hotel room usually had; a dresser, a small television, a small refrigerator and other than the bathroom, a singular bed. It was a room rather suit for one person than the two that occupied it. The squid sisters greatly apologized about this inconvenience, but the rooms were first come, first served, and practically every contestant showed up before he and Annie did.

Speaking of which… where was Annie?

Spyke looked around the bedded area, his eyes still half opened. She was obviously not in the bed with him, knowing her. His finger brushed past his phone, swiping up in one smooth motion to check the time. "11:30 in the mornin' eh?" He muttered to himself. "Annie must be awake already if anyfin… Prolly having breakfast or brunch or… somefin. I should get up and meet up with her." He flung the blanket of of his mostly exposed body and was about to hop out of the bed when he noticed that someone was lying down on the floor at the bedside. He chuckled. "Nevermind that."

He carefully placed his foot on the anemone's back, gently shaking her in an attempt to wake her up. Annie moaned as she rolled over, slowly opening her eyes in a similar fashion that Spyke did. Spyke greeted her with a warm smile. "Mornin' love!"

Annie sat up, rubbing one of her large blue eyes in hopes it will wake her up quicker. "Good morning… Spyke…" She muttered. "W-What time is it…"

"It's half past eleven." He chuckled as he watched her eyes widen. "It's prolly too late to get breakfast. But that doesn't matter anyways, right?"

Annie sighed. "I-I guess so." She rolled her shoulders, still trying to pull herself out of her sleepy state. "But our morning is basically gone now… right? What about training? It's only a matter of time until the competition you know!"

"Yeah I know." Spyke shrugged. "But we're only here for a few days right? Could we at least take a day to sightsee and such?"

"I suppose…" Annie hugged her knees and allowed Spyke to leave the bed. "Sweet!" Spyke smiled, walking over to his luggage and yanked out a couple pieces of clothing before rushing into the bathroom. "I just need to get dressed and then we could start our day, okay love?"

"Sure thing." Annie smiled as she watched the urchin disappear into the bathroom, leaving her alone in the main portion of the suite. She stood up and stretched out her arms and her back, breathing in the rooms stuffy air. She walked over to Moe's bowl, which for the duration of this trip, was rather small and made of cheap plastic. "Hey Moe…"

Moe groaned, propping himself up on the bowls plastic rim. "What's up nerd."

"Spyke and I are making last minute plans to sightsee today." She huffed as she reached for her pair of glasses that were conveniently propped up against the bowl. "Is there any chance that you want to come with us?"

"No."

"Thought so." Annie walked up to the television set, swiftly pressing the power button on the unit while snatching up the remote. "I'll put somethin' on to keep you entertained, okay Moe?"

"If it keeps me away from mister 'I don't wear clothes to bed', I'm cool over what you put on."

Annie sighed as she flipped through the very few channels the building provided, eventually landing on a channel that showed movies throughout the day. "There." She walked back over to the dresser and placed the remote next to Moe's bowl. "You can change the channel whenever you get bored."

"Thanks nerd."

Annie folded her arms and shook her head as Moe curled up and went back to sleep, standing there for a while before she noticed something that sat at the opposite end of the dresser. She hummed as she stepped towards the piled up objects, remembering what they were and why they had them.

'Oh yeah…' Annie reached out for the yellow box on the top of the pile, softly smiling at the neat wrapping job that decorated it. 'I forgot that they gave us these once we arrived here.' Upon closer examination, she noticed that there was a small tag attached to a ribbon that was secured around the box. Upon flipping it over, she saw that her name was scrawled out on it. She shrugged as she began to undo the ribbon that held the box together, but suddenly stopped once she heard the bathroom door swing open.

"Bathroom's open now, love." Spyke leaned on the frame for a brief moment before walking out and throwing himself out on the bed. Annie nodded as she clutched the box to her chest, walking over to her suitcase and dragged everything into the bathroom with her.

…

Annie stood there in her lingerie, carefully bent over as she began to unwrap the paper that covered the box, which was precariously balanced on the toilet lid. After gently unfolding the paper, she removed the lid of the box and yanked out the tissue paper that enveloped what was inside; causing something made of cloth to fall down onto the tiled floor. Seeing this made her stop what she was doing, and immediately squat down to pick up what fell.

"What's this?" She cocked her head to the side as she unfolded the cloth that fell, having it gently brush against her knees at it fell. She gasped at what she saw once the entirety of it was revealed to her, causing Spyke, who still patiently waited for her out in the main room, to knock on the bathroom door.

"Oi… Love?" His voice had a hint of worry. "Everyfin' alright in there?"

"Y-yeah!" Annie gulped, holding the object to her chest. "I-I'll be out shortly! Don't worry!"

"Alright. I just heard you gasp and kinda got worried."

Annie shuttered as she held the object out in front of her once more, her cheeks a deep red. 'A dress!?' She examined the object in both a thorough and frantic manner, nervously sighing at the surprisingly adorable garment she held. The dress had short, silky sleeves that connected to a sweetheart cut bodice; which from the waistline down, had a flourished out petticoat that, assumingly by its length, would only reach to her knees. 'Why would they get me something like this!?' She held the softly colored garment to her chest and turned towards the mirror, examining it as if it were on her body before actually deciding to slip it onto herself.

Annie examined herself once more before sighing once more, walking over to the suitcase once more to find a pair of shoes that wouldn't clash with what was already on her.

…

"Yo…" Annie carefully opened up the bathroom door and poked her head out, her eyes meeting Spykes sprawled out form almost immediately. "I finally found something to wear today."

Spyke moaned, sitting up as he saw his friend poke her head out from the bathroom after quite some time. "Ah, finally…" He swung his legs over the side of the bed hopping up onto his feet. "I was wonderin' when you' were…"

Spyke's voice trailed off as Annie stepped out of the bathroom, dragging her suitcase out behind her; completely caught off guard by the anemone's appearance. He gulped, gently rubbing his cheek with his fingernail as he felt a blush come onto his cheeks. He watched as Annie place her suitcase back where she grabbed it from, retrieving a small handbag from the front pouch of the large bag.

"Are you ready to go, dude?"

Spyke gulped before clearing his throat. "Y-yeah…" he stammered out as he tucked his phone into his pocket. "I am, love."

The two made their way towards the door, stopping for a moment as Annie told Moe that they were leaving before finally leaving the room for the day.

…

Hours seemed pass by like minutes since they left the building. Hopping from shop to shop, visiting landmark to landmark, and occasionally talking to villager after villager; it seemed like nightfall came to them quicker than they anticipated. The pair spent their evening at the local bar, which is world renowned for its food and beverage selection, sitting at a spot within the patio seating area which overlooked over a unique type of tree that glowed in the night; which was also what the bar was known for.

The two sat on the bench, overlooking the mesmerizing view before them, reliving the events of today through small talk and laughter while waiting for their food to arrive.

"I'd never thought we would actually be caught up in so much in one day." Annie smiled, crossing her ankles as she rested her hands on her lap. "It was actually the most fun I had this past week… So uh… Thanks."

Spyke stared down at Annie, returning her smile with one of his own, blushing slightly at Annie's shimmering eyes and glowing derminer. "There's no need to thank me for today, love." He wrapped her around in a single armed hug. "In fact, I should be thankin' you."

"W-Wha-" Annie felt Spyke pull her closer to him. "W-What for?"

"For bein' here wif me." Spyke looked back out towards the glowing vista. "I dunno if I ever told ya this before love, but you're a real joy to be around."

Annie shuttered at his words, her cheeks suddenly becoming very red. She looked down at her white shoes, twiddling her thumbs as she tried to muster up a response. "A-A joy?"

"Yeah, love." Spyke gently shook her. "A true joy. I haven't had a friend quite like you at all. I mean, I've met tons of noice people in my life but I've never met someone with as big as a heart as you do. I feel like such a burden on it to be honest." He laughed at his playful insert of self deprecation.

"Spyke… D-Don't put yourself down to make me look better." Annie sighed. "You're more of a 'joy' than you set yourself up to be."

Spyke smiled. "D'aww…" He cooed, playfully rustling her hair. "That's awfully sweet for ya to say, love!"

Annie grunted as she felt Spyke's had rustle through her hair, her blush growing slightly darker as his playful yet gentle touch push past each individual lock of her hair. She sighed as she felt his hand slide back down to the shoulder he held before he rustled her hair, giving it a playful squeeze as he chuckled.

"B-but it's true!" Annie huffed looking up at Spyke. "I wouldn't even survived this past week if you weren't there to cheer me up!"

"Really, love?"

"Yeah!" Annie wrapped her arms around Spyke, finally returning his hug. Spyke tensed up once he felt her sudden touch around his waist, but easily relaxed in her arms, giving her shoulder another squeeze.

The two remained silent for a while as they waited for their food to come, staring off into the glowing fields as they remained close to one another. "Hey, love." Spyke gave Annie a gentle shake, breaking the silence between the two. "Y'fink we could head down there after this and walk around for a bit? I kinda want to see them trees up close, y'know?"

Annie hummed, shrugging her shoulders. "I-I don't know… It's getting pretty late."

"Awh c'mon, love!" He gave her a smile as he gave her a gentle shake once more. "I promise it won't take too long."

Annie sat there for a moment in thought, eventually sighing with a bit of defeat. "I-I suppose…" She muttered out, blushing once more. "If it's not for too long… I guess we could go for a walk a-after this…"

Spyke chuckled. "Thanks Love!" He smiled, throwing his other arm around her, fully hugging her. "You're the best!"

Annie froze as she felt his sudden full embrace, blushing madly at his resurfacing child-like antics she saw only nights before. "N-No problem..?"


	11. Chapter 10: Tucking in Together!

Annie gripped her skirt tightly as she struggled to keep up with the urchin who was walking at an oddly fast pace, her small legs struggling to keep up with Spyke's significantly longer ones. "Spyke!" She called out, scurrying her way up to him as best as she could. "Y-You said this was going to be a walk!"

Spyke suddenly stopped walking, allowing the short anemone to catch up to him. He gently brushed his fingers against his revealed cheeks, slightly blushing in a bit of embarrassment. "Hah… Sorry there love." He chuckled, lowering his hand from his cheek and tucked both of them into his jean pockets. "You said that the walk wouldn't last long, so I'm just tryin' to cover as much of this vista as I could, y'know?"

"Yeah, Y-yeah!" Annie now stood next to Spyke, panting from vigorously trying to catch up with him. "J-Just slow down a bit, okay? M-my legs can't keep up with yours y'know."

"O-Oh…" Spyke's blush grew darker. "A-Again sorry… I-I'll try my best to slow down, I-I just…" He gulped before shaking his head. "N-Nevermind… I'll tell you when we get there."

"Get wh-"

Before Annie could finish her question, Spyke removed a hand from his pocket and grabbed her wrist and continued along, almost at the same pace as he was before; making her yelp in surprise. "S-Spyke!" She shouted, nearly falling over as Spyke nearly yanked her off of her feet. "I-I told you to slow down! A-And what do you mean by 'I'll tell you when we get there' ?" She stammered as she looked up to the Urchin who dragged her along, grunting silently as she didn't receive a response.

"Spyke! C-Can you even hear me?"

Spyke only let out a sigh as he pulled Annie up onto the grass and near a large, glowing tree, positioning her by its large trunk. "Sit."

Annie stared at him, a confused look painted her face. "Spyke, what are you-" She suddenly felt pressure on her shoulders, trying to nudge her down in a sitting position. She sighed, finally obliging to his order. Spyke kneeled down, carefully removing his jacket as he did so. He carefully wrapped the leather garment around her, making sure she was as comfortable as possible. He then stood up and pulled his phone out of one of his pockets, reenacting a somewhat familiar scene as he placed the phone up against the same large root that Annie leaned against, running out towards the graveled pavement as a familiar song began to flow through the speakers of the device.

"S-Spyke…?" Annie muttered as she witnessed the urchin repeating a familiar set of movements. She clutched the jacket as her cheeks became red. 'W-What is he doing? I thought he said to skip out on practice for today…'

His movements were much like the ones she first saw back at inkopilis nights before, a mixture of elegance and modernization was in each inch of movements. But… they were more confident and smooth, occasionally implementing a bit of a 'Hip-Hop' style within the routine. From that night and now, almost ten days later, there was a significant margin of improvement with his technique. But something still stuck with his movements, and it was the, probably unintentional, seductive flare within his movements. It was what drove Annie to record him in the first place. She was captivated by his motions.

'D-Damn it!' Annie's blush grew even darker as she buried her face into his jacket. 'I-I don't get why he's doing this! Did he notice how I've been acting during his training!?' Annie shook her head, letting a deep sigh push through the wrinkles of the jacket and past her glasses. 'Dear god I hope not. I-I might be overthinking this… Maybe he just wants to show me how much he's improved… o-or something? Y-yeah… That maybe it... But why tonight? Why here of all places? Why-' She scrunched her eyebrows. 'Damn it Annie, s-stop over thinking this already!'

Annie's eyes remained glued on the slender urchin performing for her as she had this mental battle with herself; meanwhile Spyke occasionally stole glances of the balled up anemone, trying to figure out what was going through her head. 'She's acting a bit more flustered than usual.' He let out a short sigh as his eyes passed her once more. 'I mean, I would too If shit like this started happening but. I would understand my own intentions…. I think…? Either way… I just wanted her to see this routine as a whole before-'

"Spyke!"

Spyke gulped, realizing that he was already finished with the routine, holding a stance as he saw Annie rushed over to him, clenching his jacket tightly around herself. Instinctively, he broke the pose and scooped up the anemone up into his arms, holding her close as he spun around once, listening to Annie's laughter.

"Spyke!" She pulled away a bit, to look into his eyes. "Dude! That was amazing! "

Spyke blushed, letting out a slightly embarrassed chuckle. "T-Thanks…" He gave her warm smile. "I wanted you to see it before the night of the competition. We've been workin' on it within intervals of the song but… I wanted you to be the first to see it as a whole, love."

"Aww!" Annie cooed, a blush still on her cheeks. "T-that's so sweet of you!"

"Well…" He gently placed her back down on the gravel path, taking a step back as he stroked his exposed cheek once more. "I-I wouldn't of learned how to dance like that if it weren't for you… y'know."

"R-really?"

Spyke chuckled. "Yeah…" He then felt a jolt of pain from his injured hand, letting out a slight wince of pain as he grabbed hold of the wrist of his right hand.

"Holy shit!" Annie cupped her hands to the center of her chest, still holding onto the jacket. "A-Are you okay!?"

"I-I'm fine…" Spyke gently shook his hand, trying to rid himself of the pain. "It was prolly the gravel if anyfin."

"A-Are you sure? I-I can check if you want me to…"

"No, No! Like I said, It was prolly the gravel…"

"O-Okay. I-I'll probably check it in the morning though. I-Is that alright?"

"I guess." Spyke walked over to the tree and retrieved his phone before walking back over to Annie, holding a hand out towards her. "But we shouldn't waste anymore time, yeah? We should head back to the hotel now, I'm actually pretty beat from today, y'know."

…

Spyke pulled the bed sheets over him as he tried to nestle his way into the stiff hotel mattress to find the least bit of comfort that he failed to find the night before. Having the rim of light from the closed bathroom door being the only source of light since Annie turned off the television.

Moe was already tuckered out, so there was no worry for his complaining. Although, Spyke forced himself to make as little noise as possible in hopes of not waking the fish up, in slight fear of him mouthing off for no reason. Spyke rolled over on one of his sides, the silky soft sheet tickling his skin as he did so; his mind trailing off in thought of what to do the following day they had free.

Time passed by him fairly quickly, and a sudden increase of light flushed out past his face, drawing him away from his daydreaming. "O-Oh!" He sat up, staring at the anemone who once again emerged from the bathroom. "Y'already done, love?"

Annie nodded as she walked over to the side of the bed, stretching her arms out above her head. "It doesn't take me that long to change clothes Spyke." She grunted as her arms fell to her sides once more.

Spyke softly chuckled, making Annie roll her eyes. "I'm…" She sat down on the mat she laid out on the floor next to the bed. "I'm going to try to sleep now. You should do the same."

"Wait love." Spyke scooched over to the exposed end of the bed that laid adjacent to the mat. "You aren't seriously sleepin' down there again, aren't ya?"

"W-Well-"

"Annie, it's okay to come up and sleep here too. There's more than enough room for the both of us." Spyke flung the sheets off of his body and swung his legs over the bedside, careful not to hit Annie. "After all, 'coach's gotta have some comfort too y'know?"

"B-but, I'm totally fine down here!" Annie stammered as she stretched out her back a bit. "Sure I might of woken up with a bit of a kink or two in my back this morning but that isn't much of a thing to worry about. Promise!"

Spyke sat there, staring down at her with a large degree of disbelief in his eyes. He clicked his teeth. "Love…" He reached down and grabbed Annie's wrists, pulling her to her feet. "We ain't here for long y'know. Just sleep up here for one night, if anyfing you deserve this comfort more than I do."

"S-spyke…"

" Love... " Spyke sighed. " **Please.** "

Annie gave in, slipping her wrists out of his hands and took a seat on the bed next to him. "F-Fine…" She muttered, pushing his bare arm in a gentle, playful, and slightly annoyed manner. "But only for tonight hm'kay?"

Spyke nodded, giving her a warm smile. "Thank you…"

Annie rolled her eyes and laid down on the bed, removing her glasses and placing them on the bedside table as she did so. "Y-You don't need to thank me for sleeping on a bed, you know."

"I-I know." Spyke scooched back towards the other side of the bed, flopping himself back onto the mattress next to her. "I just want the best for ya, love."

"Oh…" Annie rolled over, facing the urchin that laid beside her. She let out another small yawn. "... That's r-really nice of you to say… Spyke" Her cheeks became a soft pink.

Spyke chuckled, as his cheeks mimicked Annie's blush. "W-Well, like I said; the coach's gotta have some comfort…" He gave her another warm smile. "And you're the first close friend I've made in quite sometime, love. Of course I'd want the best for ya… I…"

Annie gave him a confused look. "You…?"

Spyke paused before letting out a playful hum, reaching over to pinch her cheek. "It's nofin that important. Get some sleep arite?"

Annie rubbed her cheek as she felt the urchin pull the blanket over the two of them. "O-Okay…?"

"G'night love."

"G-Goodnight."


	12. Chapter 11: Before the Show!

_"W-Wait."_

 _"Wot is it, love?"_

 _"T-This Is weird."_

 _"Wot's weird?"_

 _Annie frantically examined Spyke's injured hand, only to see that it was exactly the same as it was the last time she replaced his bandages. "Y-You said that it hurt last night, right?"_

 _"Yeah?" Spyke cocked his head to the side. "But I told you it was the gravel love, it's nothing worth sweatin' over y'know."_

 _"I-I know but…." Annie turned his hand over, making sure she went over every last inch of the skin on his hand. "T-That gravel shouldn't of agitated your hand if all the shards of glass from last week was removed. It should of prodded at it, sure, causing a tiny bit of pain, but it wouldn't of caused a lasting pain on you like it did." Her fingers traced the slightly discolored skin marks of the now healed scars on his hand, a worried look plagued her eyes. "A-Are you sure that you're okay?"_

 _"Oh, totally." He smiled, placing his free hand over the hand that grazed his injuries. "I swear that it's nothing to worry about love."_

 _Annie looked up at Spyke, a sigh escaping her lips. "O-Okay…" She muttered out, giving him a slow yet subtle nod. "B-But promise me that you won't push yourself when using this hand… A-Alright?"_

 _"I'll do my best."_

 _"Thank god." Annie sighed once more, reaching for the adhesive gauze she dug out of her bag moments ago. "I-I know it seems pretty redundant to re-wrap your hand now but…" She paused in the middle of her muttering as she took his large, injured hand once more, brushing away the other one that held hers in place as she proceeded to wrap the bandages around it. "It's just as a reminder to be careful this time around."_

…

Spyke stood there, in the middle of the stage at the large, empty auditorium; gazing at the wrapped up hand of his. "Be careful this time 'round, eh?" He uttered the words that Annie told him the day before. He stood there in thought before his eyes trailed up to the rows of seats surrounding the area, gulping at the intimidating view before him. "I-I don't know if I…"

"Spyke!"

Spyke jumped as he heard his name being called, folding his hands behind his back as he watched a familiar figure run towards him. "W-What are you doing out here dude! Callie and Marie are wondering why you're not in your changing room!"

"O-oh!" Spyke stammered as he reached up and stroked his flushed cheek. "I was just going for a walk love. That's all…"

"Well you could've told one of us before you went!"

"Hah…" Spyke gulped, his cheeks remained slightly flushed. "Musta not of crossed my mind… Sorry love…"

Annie sighed, reaching up and attempted to grab Spykes arm, making him retaliate from this action. Annie huffed as she regained her balance, folding her arms as she glared up at the Urchin who stared down at her with a bit of a blank look in his eye. "Dude what's up?" Annie grunted.

Spyke cocked his head to the side. "'What's up?'"

"You've been aloof all day Spyke! Since this morning you've been oddly silent and ill coordinated! You nearly knocked moe's makeshift bowl off the dresser, nearly walked into the door frame of the bathroom, twice , and you actually lost your way to your dressing room when Callie and Marie gave us the tour backstage!" Annie's glare slightly softened up she continued speaking. "Is there… something up?"

"I… Uhm…" Spyke stammered, trying to come up with a passable excuse to his antics he displayed throughout the day. He knew how his body was behaving, and he didn't like it in any sort of way imaginable; the most prominent way being the fact that he really couldn't control it. Almost as if he was being led astray right before making it to his overall goal.

Actually, it was exactly that.

He hasn't felt fear in a very long time.

He shook his head, walking towards the edge of the stage. He sat down, swinging his legs over the edge, his heels tapping against the support. Annie only stood there as he slumped down into his sitting position. She gently stroked her chin in a thoughtful concern.

"Yo Annie."

Annie blinked, snapping out of her momentary trance at the sound of Moe's somewhat arrogant tone. She sighed. "Moe… I told you to stay hidden until I was done talking to Spyke."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I fucking know." Moe rolled his eyes, pointing a fin at the sulking urchin. "But it looks like your boyfriend is being a bit hard to talk to, hm?"

"Moe!" She yanked the fish out of her hair, her cheeks flushed. "H-how many times do I need to tell you, Spyke and I a-aren't-"

Moe huffed, interrupting his owner's protest. "Whatever." He said rolling his eyes. "Just finish up talking with him, ya hear?"

Annie sighed with slight annoyance as she shoved the fish back into her hair returning her gaze to Spyke. She couldn't help the lump that suddenly formed in her throat as she proceeded to approach the urchin. She placed a hand on his shoulder, gulping as she attempted to utter out something to try to shake him from his sulking; but before she could say anything, Spyke turned around, making her jump back.

"Wot?"

Annie gasped as she noticed a faint, dried on line on Spykes cheek trailing from his somewhat dewy eye. "Spyke!" She squeaked. "A-Are you-"

"I-It's nofing to worry about." Spyke sniffled out, attempting to dodge the anemone's concerns. "I-I just need some time… that's all." He turned back around and, staring back down at his lap.

Annie watched as the urchin's shoulders sunk, a lengthy sigh escaping his lips. Her gaze softened witnessing this scene, realizing what could be wrong with him. "Spyke…" She muttered out taking a step towards him. "... You're afraid about tonight… Aren't you?"

There was a lingering pause between the two before Spyke let out a half-hearted chuckle. "... Was it that obvious…?" He reached up and flicked a forming tear from his eye. "My dad used ta accuse me of being a pussy in front of large crowds… guessed it kinda slipped my mind when enterin' this competition." He folded his hands on his lap. "I guess he wos right…"

Annie's eyes widened. "W-Wait…" Her hands hovered over her mouth. "You have… You have stage fright?" She stood frozen in place as she heard another sigh escape his lips, watching him slump his shoulders once more. "W-wait, wait, wait!" She quickly sat down beside them. "W-what about that video that Moe uploaded without me knowing? A-And the millions who saw it in the-"

"I was performing fer no one then." He muttered out. "You were honestly the only audience I had up until now." He let out another weak chuckle. "I guess your eyes were the only ones who saw everyfing up until now…"

Annie stared up at him with shock, taking a moment before she hopped off the stage, turning around to face the urchin that now sat above her. Her cheeks still flushed as she placed her hands on her hips, looking up at Spyke. "And these eyes will be the m-most important ones that'll watch you tonight then!" She pointed at Spyke, who was now sitting up straight in shock. "A-Are you forgetting that I'll be on the sidelines watching you as you perform!?"

Spyke blushed. "I-I guess that also slipped my mind-"

"I promise you that I-I won't look away from you as long as you promise to get out on that stage you're sitting on right now and kick some god damned ass!" She walked up to him and grabbed the hands that rested on his lap, separating them and holding them by the wrists. "You wouldn't want to disappoint these eyes… Now would you?"

Spyke's eye widened as he stared down at the anemone, who looked up at him with a hopeful and determined gleam in her eyes. He felt another tear stream down his cheeks as he felt a small smile come to him, shaking his hands loose from Annie's grip so he could grab hold of her beneath her shoulders and hoist her up to his lap. Holding her in a close embrace as she squirmed slightly in retaliation. "I would never disappoint those eyes, love." He whispered, resting his chin on the top of her forehead. "After all… I fancy them quite a lot. It would be a shame to have them look at me in such a manner, yeah?"

Annie sucked in her breath, holding absolutely still in his arms as his chin grazed the top of her forehead, desperately hoping that Moe won't pop up and scream at him for the action he took on her. She could feel the fish slither out of her hair and onto her shoulder, leaning close to her ear. "Are you sure that he's not-"

Annie gritted her teeth as she clenched onto Spyke's shirt. "Moe!" She whispered back, her cheeks grew even darker in their shade. "Now's not the right time to-"

Spyke suddenly hopped off the stage, still holding the small anemone In his arms. "So… Callie and Marie wanted me In my dressin' room eh?" He asked, making his way towards the stage staircase. He hummed as he slowly climbed up the stairs, cautiously trying his best not to trip over his own feet as he moved up the staircase while he held Annie. "The competition doesn't even start fer a few hours. Why would they want me there now?"

Annie shrugged her shoulders, cupping her hands together as she shyly kicked her feet. "Now that you mention it… I dunno…" She muttered. "Maybe they wanted to know if you were preparing for the night or… Something like that? I dunno." She paused for a moment, twiddling her thumbs before speaking up once more. "By the way Spyke…"

The urchin hummed, looking down at the anemone.

"You think you could… Put me down?"

"Well..." Spyke cocked his head to the side, giving her a bit of a playful smile. "... Wot would ya do if I said no?"

Moe, who still sat on Annie's shoulder, clicked his teeth. "Just put her down, nerd."

Spyke laughed. "Alright! Alright! I'll put her down ya lil runt!"

…

Annie sat still, folding her arms in her lap as she watched the urchin examine himself in the mirror. Her cheeks slightly flushed at his appearance. Her eyes gently traced the form of the overly bedazzled and skin-tight clothing that adorned his body, wanting to comment how it looked on him before he said anything regarding the somewhat gaudy ensemble.

"Ay love?"

Annie bit her lower lip as he turned to face her, the sequins of his outfit flickered in the low light of the vanity mirror.

"Y'think it's too much?"

Annie hopped up onto her feet and slowly made her way towards him, examining the little subtle details she missed from far away. "I-I don't think so." She shoved her hands into her hoodie's pockets. "After all… It is a performer's outfit. It's supposed to be a bit more flashy than usual."

"Hm…" Spyke hummed. "You sure?"

"Y-Yeah!" Annie chuckled. "I'm more concerned about your body breathing in that thing."

Spyke returned Annie's laughter with his own. "It's cool, love! I can move just fine in this fing! No worries!" He placed his hands on his hips. "I mean, Callie and Marie wouldn't give me somefin' that didn't fit fer tonight? Rite?"

"Wait, was that the present they got you when you arrived?"

"Oh!" Spyke brushed his hands across his sequin coated tights. "Yeah! I fink they were actually. Why d'you ask that love? Do I look odd or anyfin?"

"Oh! No, no, no, no!" Annie shook her head. "You look great! I-I was just curious that's all-"

A knock at the door interrupted the pair's conversation, making them both simultaneously turn towards it.

"Hellooooooo!"

"We've been hopping from changing room to changing room to gather all contestants to the room backstage!"

"Please hurry on over there you two! It's super duper important!"

"Callie I think they know it's Important."

"Shhh! See you guys there!"

"Bye!"

Annie and Spyke remained silent as the sound of high heeled shoes clicking on the tiled floor gradually grew softer and softer. Once the sound was practically gone, the two turned to face each other, a confused look plagued both of them.

"Wot wos 'at all about?" Spyke muttered, cocking his head to the side.

Annie shrugged her shoulders once more. "No Idea. But we should head down there anyways, Callie did say It was 'super duper important' after all."

"Huh." Spyke huffed. "I thought the competition wasn't going to start until sometime in the evenin' or somefin like that."

"It could be further preparations or something like that." Annie hummed as she walked towards the door carefully opening it and eyed the now somewhat cluttered corridor. She then turned to Spyke and motioned him to follow her out. "C'mon."

Spyke shrugged his shoulders and followed the sea anemone out of the changing room, closing the door behind him before proceeding to navigate the hallway; doing his best to keep up with Annie in the cluttered area.


	13. Chapter 12: It's Time!

Spyke stood behind the curtains that were currently bunched up at the ends of the lit up stage, his form barely hid behind its bright red masking that led offstage, alongside a few other contestants who stood behind him awaiting their chance to hop out on the lit up stage and show the world what they can do. He stared down at the hem of his outer shirt, his thumb gently stroked the clip of a tag he received only an hour before heading up to where he was now. "One hundred and seven." He muttered to himself before releasing the tag and leaned back against the wall that the curtain gently brushed up against, letting out a shaky sigh as he rested his eyes.

Annie, who stood next to him, looked up at the urchin. Also letting out a sigh as she reached out and grabbed his wrist, gently stroking it in hopes of gaining his attention. "So…" She muttered, giving his arm a bit of a tug. "After this guy is done… you're next. R-Right?"

Spyke sighed once more, as the voice of the somewhat tone deaf contestant on the stage flushed out any sort of cursing that slipped out of his mouth before mustering up a proper answer. "Unfortunately."

"Spyke..." Annie tugged at his arm once more. " I'll be watching you while you're out there! Did you already forget what I told you earlier today?"

Spyke hummed. "No, no, it's not that I forgot what you told me, love. I'm just gittin' a bit nervous again. Y'know?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"Ah… yeah, yeah. I guess that… that's pretty normal for something like this." Annie yanked his wrist, gesturing him to come down to her height. "You… You want to talk about it a bit before you head out on stage?"

Spyke took a knee, staring into her eyes in the low light. "Love… Have you ever been afraid of disappointin' someone you'd consider... close to ya?"

"N-no…?" She cocked her head to the side. "W-What do you even mean by 'close to you' anyways?"

"O-Oh! Uh… y'know someone like a family member… a really good friend… or maybe…" Spyke gulped, his cheeks turning a soft shade of red. "A significant other of some sorts…?"

Annie hummed. "Yeah… I don't think I've ever been in that position before. I-I'm sorry…"

"Nah, Nah it's fine, love. It's just…" His eye trailed down to the floor before sighing, resting it once more. "Would ya do me, one last favor and not be too disappointed of what happens once I step onto that stage… regardless of what I do?"

"Didn't you say that you would do your best not to disappoint me though?"

"I-I did." Spyke sighed. "But what if I disappoint you by not winning tonight?"

Annie looked down, deep in thought about an answer to his question. The grip she had on Spyke's wrist loosened as she moved her hand over his wrapped up hand, trying her best to grab hold of it as best as she could. Her small, somewhat chubby fingers pushed his hand up, stretching themselves out as they squeezed their way between his longer, more slender digits. Looking back up at him with a warm smile and a blush that matched his. "You won't."

Spyke hummed, opening his eye once more to meet Annie's warm gaze; making his blush grow somewhat darker. "I won't?"

"Pfft, of course!" Annie chuckled. "Do you not remember when you dragged me further into this entire thing? I told you that I was inept as a coach! I didn't plan to train a winner, in fact, I didn't plan to have the trainee gain anything by his deadline! Instead…. I wound up training someone to be more… confident, and prideful in this gift he has; all while improving this said gift the more he embraced it. And this man is now here, ready to show the rest of the world this beautiful gift he had all of his life… W-with this inept coach who stood there, by him the entire time… Greatful for how far the two of them have come with this gift… And in such a short time too."

Spyke's eye widened as he watched Annie's smile grow, her eyes growing somewhat dewy. "A-Annie…" He let out a huff as a smile grew onto his lips, yanking his hand out of the anemone's grip so he could throw his arms around her. "That wos so corny, love!"

"W-Was it…?" Annie wrapped her arms around Spyke, hesitantly returning the hug. She laughed as her blush grew darker. "Sorry man, I-I didn't mean it to be that corn-"

Spyke snickered, pulling away so he could look at her flushed face once more. "No, No it's fine! It wos really sweet of you to say…" His bandaged hand moved from her shoulder to her cheek, giving it a gentle rub with his thumb. "... I loved it."

There was a pause between the pair until Callie and Marie rushed back onto the stage, eager to introduce the next contestant.

"Alright, before we move on to our next contestant we want to know one thing from all of you."

"Yeah! Who here's from Inkopilis!?"

A large applause erupted from the crowd gathered out in the auditorium. Catching Spyke and Annie off guard. Annie huffed. "Looks like you're up dude."

Spyke turned around to see the two Squid idols conversing with the audience before them, letting out a somewhat dissapointed sigh as he began to stand up once more. "Yeah… I guess so."

"W-Wait!" Annie grabbed hold of Spyke's hand, pulling him back down to her level. The urchin sighed and stared at her in a bit of confusion.

"Wot is it, love?"

Annie gulped as she took a step forward, hastily pressing her lips against the soft skin on his exposed cheek; quickly pulling away with a blush still on her cheeks. "Good luck."

Spyke sat there, slightly dazed, before giving her a firm nod. He stood up, facing the stage front as the Squid Sisters continued on with their segway, he gently stroked where Annie's lips brushed up against moments ago. A small smile curled up on his lips as the stage lights dimmed and the the pair left the stage once more.

…

A singular white light dimly lit his form from above as the song faded in from the speakers surrounding him. The performers outfit he wore gently glimmered in the white light's aura, and it shined even more with each movement he made while it followed him around the stage.

His heart raced as the eyes of the thousands of people there locked eyes with him as he moved, not only paying attention to the shiny suit, nor the form of his body as he moved. They were watching him for his technique, they were judging him. Even the live broadcast, the unseen eyes were judging him. But that didn't matter much for him at this point, according to his beaming smile

'She believes you Spyke.' He thought as his feet guided him to the beat of the music. 'She wants you to embrace your gift. Embrace it and show these people who the fuck I can become with it. I'm doing this for me, of course. I have to do this for myself and fulfil this god damned promise I've made.'

He gulped as he performed a one handed cartwheel, followed by a handspring with the same hand, the one he previously injured.

'But DAMNIT I'm doing it for her too!'

He gritted his teeth as he felt a sudden strain on his hand, still moving and twirling to the song that took control his body, guiding him along the stage as it did to him nights before in inkopilis plaza. 'If it weren't for her I wouldn't be here. If it weren't for her I would of remained back at the alleyway at 'home' sitting alone on a night where everyone would have their eyes glued on their damn phones, watching the contest I wouldn't even be in if it weren't for her. Hell, I wouldn't of even met her if it weren't for her!'

Spyke panted as he rushed back towards the center of the stage, nearing the end of his routine; doing one last spin before abruptly posing, extending his bandage hand over his head, holding as still as he possibly could as the music petered out and the stage lights slowly and evenly lit up the stage once more.

Absolute silence plagued the area as he stared up at his hand, his vision blurring somewhat as he noticed that something was beginning to stain the bandages that wrapped around his hand. And the stain was growing fairly large, fairly fast.

At that moment he realized something.

He was bleeding profusely.

…

Annie stared at him, wide-eyed in horror. She may of been fairly far from him the entire time, the speakers blasting near her ears. But she heard him gasp in pain during his routine, and now, his blood began to soak through the bandages, slowly oozing down his arms. As she was about to instinctively run out on the stage, her phone went off.

She grunted as she froze in her place, tearing the device out of her pocket; quickly unlocking it to check the notification.

"Draw the front curtains. Now."

Annie cocked her head to the side before looking back up to see that Marie was already drawing the curtain on her side. She gasped before nodding at the squid idol, and ran towards a rope that held the curtain open, frantically pulling at the system of pulleys it was attached to, pulling the curtain over to where the other one was, eventually meeting it in the middle.

As the curtains met, she heard a distant thud, making her turn her head towards the center of the stage in immediate assumption of the worst. "Shit!" She rushed out onto the stage, and slid towards the collapsed urchin on her knees, propping his torso up on her lap as she stared down at him with horror in her eyes.

"Spyke… Please hang in there…" She bit her lower lip as she reached for his bleeding hand, grabbing a hold of it as she examined it closer. "Fuck…"

"Annie!"

Annie looked up to see Callie and Marie running up to her. She frowned at them, shaking her head in a both solemn and frantic manner. "Spyke fainted."

"Oh my god!" Callie placed her hands over her mouth.

Marie nodded. "What do you want us to do, Annie?"

Annie sighed. "I need one of you to get a medic. There should be one here on standby, right?"

"I can go look for one while Callie stays back here to help you out." Marie gestured towards a door that led to a corridor shortcut back to the main waiting room. "Got it?"

Callie and Annie and exchanged looks before looking back at Marie, nodding at her. "Got it."

The two watched as Marie ran off the stage to find medical help before turning their attention to Spyke, who still laid unconscious in Annie's lap. Callie sat down on the opposite side of Spyke's body, staring at him with concern. "So.." She huffed. "What happened."

"I-I don't know." Annie shrugged, lifting up his hand to show Callie its condition. "All I know is that his hand started bleeding horrendously."

"Could you remove the bandages to check what's wrong with it?"

"I could, but I didn't bring any to re-wrap his hand with after checking it!"

Callie huffed, removing her gloves before reaching out for Spyke's bleeding hand, taking it from the anemone's grasp and began to remove the bandages much to her plausible dismay.

"Callie what are you doing!? I told you I didn't have anything to re-wrap it with!"

Callie removed the bandages and tossed them aside, exposing his bloodied hand to the cold air of the outdoor stage. She let out a small gasp as she tilted his hand towards Annie. "Dude this…" she gagged. "This is fucking horrendous."

Annie's eyes watered as she took Spyke's hand from Callie's hold, she tried her best to not let any tears fall as she stared down at the wound in the center of his palm. "I-I told him to be careful with this hand…" She muttered, removing her thick glasses and set them aside so her tears wouldn't stain its lenses. "How is this happening?"

Callie's eyes widened. "You're asking me this!? I didn't even know he had an injury this bad up until now-"

"I-I wasn't asking you anything Callie calm down!" Annie barked, trying to slow down the urchin's blood flow. "Now stop sitting there and actually hel-"

"Wait."

Callie's ears twitched, as she heard a roaring sound from the other side of the stage. She quickly hopped up onto her feet and ran up to where the two large curtains met and slightly pulled them apart, peeking through the small gap her hands pried apart for her.

Annie rolled her eyes. "Callie what the hell are you doing!?" She called out to the somewhat aloof squid. "Get back over here and help me slow down his blood flo-"

"Unbelievable…"

"Excuse me!?"

Callie pulled herself away from the curtains, raising both of her hands up as if she was caught red handed in some sort of elaborate crime. "N-No, no! I wasn't talking back to you Annie I swear! I-It's just…"

Annie's annoyed glare softened into a look of slight curiosity and concern. "Just what, Callie?"

Callie bowed her head, thinking for a brief moment before looking back at Annie, a huge grin plastered her face. "Spyke got a standing ovation."


	14. Chapter 13: Waiting in tears

Annie paced around the waiting room of the ER of the Calamari County hospital, Callie and Marie sat down nearby; trying their best not to pass out as their new friend was panicking. Annie fled the indoor backstage area of the outdoor auditorium as soon as the competition ended and bolted straight to the facility, far too worried to take a cab or wait to have the cousins to escort her there. And she hasn't sat down since then.

Meanwhile, the squid idols spent at least another half an hour or so congratulating the winners of the competition, and thanking everyone who came; sending them off with a selfie or two or at the least an autograph to remember the night by, eventually dragging themselves to the hospital to check up on Spyke. They found that Annie was pacing around the waiting room, waiting for the 'okay' from the doctor to let her see him again. Both of the squids decided to keep quiet, in the indication of her possibly snapping under all of this stress and worry that the night has caused her.

The night has been one hell of a turn of events after all.

Callie leaned onto Marie's shoulder, letting out a small yawn as she struggled to keep her eyes open. "Mariiiiiiieeee…" Callie moaned, her already poor posture slumped further into her seat. "I'm soooo tireeeed."

Marie hummed resting her elbow on the armrest of the cushioned chair, her hand nonchalantly placed under her chin. "Huh…" She let out a small yawn. "That's the first time I've ever heard that from you Cal..."

Callie huffed. "Ma riiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeee… "

"If you're so tired Cal, you could just rest your eyes for a bit." Marie sighed. "You big baby."

" Mariiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeee… "

Marie laughed at her cousin's antics, shrugging her shoulders while she shook her head; feeling Callie's face burry into her arm with each chuckle she let out, sprawling further out of her seating area. Marie noticed this and tried her best to suppress the rest of her laughing fit to try and pull Callie back into her seat. "Hey! Hey!" Marie said, grabbing ahold of her cousin's waistline and sitting her up in a more acceptable seating position, while she moaned with protest. "You were about to kick over the trophy that fish boy's chillin' in."

Callie turned her head to where her white tentacled partner in crime pointed to, only to let out a gasp when she saw Moe, glaring up at the two. "O-Oh shit…" She muttered, turning her whole body towards the fish. "I-I'm sorry!"

Moe tisked, shaking his head. "I have a name you know."

Marie leaned over, looking around Callie with an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry Moe." She gave him a small smile in an attempt to calm down the already somewhat peeved fish. "It's just been one crazy night and this boob here just wants to hit the hay and get the night over with."

Callie turned around and shot a glare at Marie. "Do not call me a boob."

"Whatever, boob." Marie rolled her eyes, shaking her head once more. "But we made a promise to congratulate all the winners of tonights competition."

"Well…" Moe leaned over the brim of the chalice shaped trophy, his fins folded beneath his chin. "Could it wait until tomorrow or something? I've already got that mess to deal with y'know." Moe bobbed his head in the direction of where Annie was.

"Yeah, we could tell." Marie huffed. "But I'm afraid that it can't really wait until the morning. Callie and I have to send of the participants at the train station at around nine in the morning."

Moe loudly groaned, rolling his eyes as he flopped back in the bowl of the trophy. "Come on!"

"I'm sorry! I wish we could do something about it! But it's kind of solidified in our schedules."

"Hm?" Annie looked up from her frantic pondering to see the three in a bit of an argument, her hand still folded and placed near her mouth, the knuckles of her thumbs gently grazed against her lips as she began to call out to the group. "Oh hey Callie… Marie… When did you two get here?"

Marie turned to Annie, her lips slightly drooped. "We've been here for almost an hour Annie." She said, the sound of concern in her voice more apparent than it was a while ago. "You've been pacing around like that the entire time."

"O-oh!" Annie blushed, sniffling back another tear that tried to slip down her cheek. "I-I'm sorry for not noticing you guys there…"

Callie wiped the drowsiness from her eyes as she turned to Annie, gasping as she noticed the state of the anemone before her once she removed her hands before her eyes. "Oh my god…!" Callie pulled herself from her spot and rushed over to Annie, grabbing a hold of the anemone's wrists, and pulled her hands from her face, making Annie look up at the black-tentacled squid that now stood in front of her. "Y-Your eyes! They're all red a-and gunked up!"

"Y-Yeah…" Annie sniffled once more, cocking her head to the side as she took her hoodie's sleeve to her eyes. "So…?"

"I-It looks like you've been crying this entire time!"

"I-It d-does?" Annie gulped, slumping her shoulders. "I-I didn't even know I-I was crying for that long…"

Callie sighed. "I…" She carefully pulled the anemone along with her, gently escorting her towards the spot where she once sat. "I think you need to sit down Annie."

"W-Why?" Annie stuttered as the Squid Sister carefully placed her in the chair right next to her Cousin's seat.

"Look at you!" Callie kneeled down so Annie could see her better. "You've been like this since Spyke was escorted out of the auditorium! I saw how desperate you were to get out of there when you were accepting the award in place of him."

"I-I was just a little worried…"

"A little worried!?" Callie's eyes widened as she repeated the words Annie spoke. "Dude! You were mortified when he was dragged out of there!"

"U-Uhm…" Annie hummed, softly sniffling as she bit her lower lip.

Marie placed a hand on the anemone's shoulder, leaning over the edge of her seat as she tried to look her in the eye. "Annie…"

Annie slouched her shoulders, staring down at her lap as she let out a sigh. "I-I…" She pushed up her glasses, rubbing her eyes once more. "I-I just want… to hear him say that h-he's fine…"

Marie tensed up, her eyes widening as she turned to face Callie, who had the same look of shock and worry on her face.

"T-that's all I could ever ask f-for right n-now…" Annie sniffled, clenching her fists, clenching the loose denim that cloaked her legs. "I-I want to be there… by him... and just... hear him say t-that h-he's fine."

Callie frowned watching as the anemone as she desperately tried to hold back her tears. It pained her to see her new friend like this. "Annie…" She sighed as she reached out to stroke Annie's balled up fists. "You really care about Spyke… huh?"

Annie gulped, letting out a small whimper as she subtly nodded her head, her eyes still stared down at her lap as she felt the black tentacled idol stroke her fists with her gloved hands, her thumbs gently circled her knuckles in an attempt to soothe her. She sniffled as she felt another hand began to stroke her shoulder. The two idols sat there in the silence of the waiting hall, hoping that Annie's tears would subside soon.

…

Annie slurred as she felt the world around her come back into shape, the light seeping through the cheap blinds that poorly blocked the window next to her made her squint bringing her hand over her eyes to block it out. She moaned as she hoisted herself up into a sitting position, rolling any kinks she had in her shoulders from the awkward sleeping position she was in.

As the spotty stars that dotted her vision slowly disappeared, she quickly got herself acquainted with herself with her surroundings, swinging her legs around the couch she had apparently been lying on; her heart twisting as she frantically looked around the room.

This was a recovery room.

Spyke's recovery room.

She pushed herself onto her feet, stumbling around from the wave of shock that came over her. 'H-How did I get here!?' Annie stumbled towards the hospital bed, nearly tripping over her own feet as she threw herself to the bed frame, leaning over it as she tightly gripped it's cold, piped build; panting loudly as she felt her thick frames tumble off of her face, it's lenses dirtied up by her tears.

She gulped as she attempted to collect herself, her eyes trailing up from the foot of the bed, cautiously scanning its subject; blissfully asleep as the thin blanket covered him up to the middle of his chest. She sighed, guiding herself to the bedside, where a chair was already resting; quickly flopping her being into it's cheap mold without removing her eyes from Spyke's resting figure. It didn't take long for her to notice the cast that bounded his hand in place, making her heart immediately sink.

"'Bout time you got up, nerd."

Annie jumped at the familiar voice and quickly turned to the bedside table, only to see Moe staring right at her; leaning over the rim of the chalice shaped trophy. "O-Oh!" Annie gasped, her hands flying up to her mouth in surprise. "'M-Morning Moe…" She stuttered out. "H-How long have I… We-"

"Since like two in the morning." Moe scoffed. "You passed out from exhaustion right before the nurse came out to give us the 'OK' to go and check in on, uh, him. " He shook his head, gesturing towards the urchin next to him. "You look like a mess by the way."

Annie let out a small yawn, rubbing one of her eyes as she pursed her lips once more. "T-Thanks?"

There was a prolonged pause between the two as Annie returned her gaze to the resting Urchin, watching his chest as it gently moved with each deep breath he took. She sighed as she leaned forward, resting her head on her hands. "So… What happened to him." She asked as she slightly bit her lower lip.

"They found a shard of glass lodged in his hand." Moe huffed, hopping out of the trophy and onto the anemone's shoulder. "And judging by the X-rays, it was surprisingly large. That fucker shouldn't of punched our door, otherwise this wouldn't of happened."

Annie's heart sunk even lower, her eyes growing more dewy as she stared more at the cast that constricted his hand and wrist. "I should've taken him into the doctor's Instead of treating him myself." She buried her face into her hands. "... I'm s-such an idiot."

"You're acting like he got hit by a bus Annie, calm down." Moe scoffed. "Besides, He wouldn't want to see you like this, now would he?"

There was a pause.

"Yo, Annie. Are you even listening to me?"

"Moe…" She whimpered. "C-Could you just tell me when he'll wake up?"

…

A soft, yet raspy hum seeped through his lips as Spyke sluggishly opened his eye, taking Immediate notice of what was beside him, staring back with tired, pleading eyes. A small smile creeped up onto his lips as he squeezed the hand that already rested in his exposed palm. "Good morning, love…"

Annie stared at him, wide eyed as a wide smile began to form on her face. She quickly stood up, kicking away her seat as she hopped up onto the bed, pulling Spyke into an embrace as she desperately attempted not to cry. "You're awake!" She gasped. "Y-You're a-awake …"

"Y-Yeah…" Spyke chuckled, wrapping his arms around Annie, returning the hug. "Yeah I am…"

There was a lingering pause between the two as Moe slithered out of Annie's hair and back into the water filled trophy, leaving the two to themselves as they held one another. "I…" Annie suddenly pulled away, looking away as a soft blush appeared on her cheeks. "I-I'm so… so sorry."

"Sorry?" Spyke cocked his head to the side. "Wot for?"

"I-I…" Annie bit her lower lip. "I should've taken you into the doctor's the day that you broke into my shop. B-But the nearest hospital from there I-Is about an hour away, a-and I… I-I…" Tears began to flow from her eyes once more. "I-I'm so **sorry!** " She gasped as she buried her face into his shoulder, the cloth of the hospital gown muffled her sobs.

Spyke sat there, wide eyed at what the bawling anemone spewed out at him; his cheeks flushed at her sudden actions. "A-Annie… Love…" He grunted as he pulled her away from him, letting out a sigh once they were face to face once more. "There's nofing to be sorry about."

"B-But I-"

"I don't care." Spyke huffed, staring into her sad eyes, wiping away her tears as best as he could. "We wouldn't be where we are now if you didn't do your best to patch me up, y'know?"

"I-In this hospital?"

"No." Spyke shook his head, letting another chuckle pass through his teeth. " Together. "

Annie gulped, her heart skipping a beat as she pushed his hands off of her. "U-Uhm…"

"W-Was it something I said?"

"N-No, no!" She shook her head, cupping her hands on her chest. "I-It's just… I… You… We..." She sighed, her cupped hands moving down to her abdomen as she relaxed her shoulders. "Do you happen to find any of this… Weird?"

"Weird?"

"Y-Yeah." Annie nodded. "I-I've only know you for like, nine, ten, maybe eleven days by now? And I've felt like we've been getting along for years. I-I've never felt so… close, to anybody in my life, nor have I ever been this close to anyone… because of Moe. A-And what makes this even weirder is that I was supposed to be your 'mentor' through this whole thing… But you were the one who kept me 'together' throughout the time we've spent together. Infact… I think the days we spent together may have been the happiest ones I've had in a long… time…" She paused, sighing once more. "A-and through all of this… I-I need to ask you one thing…"

Spyke hummed. "Wot is it?"

"I-Is it wrong?" Annie's voice wavered, her heart began to pound against her chest as she moved herself closer to him. "I-Is it wrong t-that I feel this way? I-I've been pushing these thoughts aside and such for a while now… Since I-I didn't want them to get in the way of everything that was going on at the time… b-but…" Annie leaned close to Spyke, her voice hushed to a whisper. "I-Is it wrong that I… l-like you?"

Spyke sat there, his face completely flushed at Annie's audacious inquiry. "I-I…" He reached up with his left hand, stroking her cheek once more. "I don't fink so… I'm pretty sure that nofing is wrong if you truly… feel like that." He let out a small sigh. "Wot made you ask that anyway?"

Annie gulped. "W-Well. Last night, when I was out in the waiting room, when Callie and Marie tried their best to console me, Callie said something that made me think a lot. A-And it's been bothering me ever since."

"Wait a tick." Spyke interrupted. "Callie and Marie? Wot were they doing here?"

"They wanted to congratulate you."

"For wot?"

"Spyke…" Annie gave him a smile. "You came in third." She said, gesturing to the trophy that sat next to him. "They personally wanted to hand it to you once you woke up, but they were on such a time crunch they could only write up a note for you and drop me off on the couch right over there. And uh… Moe decided to hang out in it for the time being."

Spyke turned his head to the side, seeing Moe pop his head out over the trophy that sat next to him, spouting out his typical "'Sup loser" before diving back down in the shallow bowl of the trophy. He looked back at Annie, completely astonished. "I-I can't believe this…"

"Y-You had a standing ovation too…" Annie chuckled. "Even Callie and Marie sounded a bit confused when they read off that you got third place. They told me right before I passed out that when someone gets a crowd response like that, they were sure to win first, just like they did back when the talent contest was just a mere folk singing competition."

"I… wow." Spyke smiled, sitting up straight. "That's crazy…"

"I know…" Annie returned his smile, despite there being some tears trickling down her cheeks still. "You should be proud."

"I…" Spyke paused. "Wait." He reached out and grabbed Annie's hands. "D-Did you say that you… Liked me, about a minute ago?"

"I-I… Uhm…"

Spyke bursted out laughing at Annie's sudden flustering. Watching her as she adorably covered her face with her hands. He sighed, staring back as the somewhat disheveled anemone. The warm, natural light from the window made her kind on the eyes in her current state. "Ta make you feel a bit better, I…" He cleared his throat, removing her hands from her face with his own while giving her a warm smile. "I quite fancy you as well… Annie."

Annie's eyes widened as her cheeks grew redder. "Y-You... You do?"

"Of course!" He leaned closer to her. "You're the sweetest person I've ever encountered in Inkopilis… I'm actually quite surprised that nobody has fallen in love with someone as sweet as you… remotely at all, really."

"I-I'm not that likeable Spyke."

"Well, ta me, ya are." Spyke smirked. "And I'll be delighted to be the one who takes you out on your first legitimate date. If it's okay with you, that is."

"I-I…" Annie gulped, a grin forming on her lips. "I would l-love that… A-Actually."

"Oh my goooooooooood. "

Spyke and Annie turned to the trophy on the bedside table to see Moe, rolling his eyes towards the back of his head as he loudly moaned. "I can't believe you're asking ther out in a damn hospital bed out of all things!"

Spyke rolled his eye. "Well do you have any better ideas there, mate?"

Moe sat there for a moment, trying to think of a snarky response, quickly giving up as he groaned, flopping back into the bowl once more. "Whatever. Just don't make out or anything in my line of sight capiche?"

Spyke huffed. "Yeah, okay. Sure." He pursed his lips. "I'm just surprised you're cool with this fish boy."

"Yeah, Yeah, shut up."

Spyke snickered, turning his attention back to Annie, who's face was still flushed. He smirked at the anemone as he reached up and stroke her cheek once more. "So when?"

"W-When what?"

"When do ya wanna go out?"

Annie huffed, placing a hand on the large hand that caressed his cheek. "P-Preferably when we get home. When things are a bit less… Insane?"

Spyke leaned in and pecked Annie's forehead, letting out another soft chuckle. "Awrite…" He leaned back, pulling Annie into his arms. "The only fing that's a bit less insane is the splatfest comin' up, yeah?"

Annie's blush grew darker, relaxing her body in Spyke's embrace, as her head rested on his chest; listening to his slow and gentle breathing. "Yeah… I think so…" She paused before looking up at him, her eyes slightly widened. "W-Wait! I-I can't dance with you Spyke! Remember!? I… I'm too short to-"

"We'll cross that path when we git 'ere, love." Spyke gently stroked her back, giving it a soft pat, telling her to calm down. "Fer now though, get some sleep. Ya look exhausted."


	15. Chapter 14: A Month later: Splatfest!

Weeks have passed, Annie and Moe finally came to the agreement of letting Spyke live with the two; much to Moe's protests,even after getting to know him through the time that they already spent together. But eventually, the fish learned to tolerate the urchin being a permanent member of the household, despite the occasional quarrels that go on between the three.

Spyke still slept in the gaudy guest room, while Annie still slept in hers. She did occasionally sneak into the guest room, with a blanket slung over her shoulder whenever she felt lonely, squeezing her way onto the one person bed and snuggled up against him while he slept. Most of the time he didn't notice, but when he did, he would toss his blanket over her before pulling her closer to him, letting out a soft chuckle or two as he did so. It was like that since the night he became a permanent resident of the household.

And alongside permanent residency, there was a major shift in Spyke's business; moving his outdoor gig to an indoor place was quite difficult thing to achieve overall. And Moe still treated the customers poorly, which hurt his income greatly. But he still made enough to help pay his share of the rent of the building, along side with the repairment of the water pipes, and the replacement doorway to the front of the shop. Which was all that honestly mattered at that point.

Other than the girl he now spent more time than he ever expected with.

…

Spyke slouched back into the hard wooden bench that was recently built and placed where his former post was, his eyes drifted up to the sky, watching the glowing particles that rise from the ground as they fluttered up into the night sky. He let out the sigh, trying his best to drown out the world around him while he sat there, an arm lazily wrapped around his date.

This lazy posture caught Annie's attention, making her lean against him, relaxing as best as she could while looking at him with a hint of concern. "Spyke…" She whimpered taking a deep breath as she relaxed her shoulders. "You seem a little off… Everything okay?"

Spyke sighed once more. "Yeah yeah… Everyfing is alright." He let out a small yawn. "I'm just a bit tired, that's all love. It's just hard adjusting to this new life, yeah?"

"I-I see where you're coming from there…" Annie muttered, returning his yawn with one of her own. "It's been hard for me too… B-But it'll get better… right?"

A small smile creeped up on his lips. "But it already has though…" He pulled her closer to him, letting a few chuckles pass his lips. "... I mean you have been making my days brighter ever since we got back y'know."

Annie's face went red. "S-SPYKE!"

"Y'cant deny wot's the truth there love." Spyke rustled her hair, the sluggish tone within his voice had a bit of a flirtatious flare now.

"W-Well… I-I…" Annie gulped, slightly relieved that Moe was back in her room, sleeping the night away while she was out and about.

Spyke gave her a warm smile. "Y'know, I don't think I ever told ya this love, but ya look like an angel when you're all flustered."

"I-I think tha-at's enough Spyke."

Spyke laughed once more as he sat up, pulling the sea anemone into his lap as he rested his chin on top of her head. A pause lingered between the two as they listened to Callie and Marie as they sung their hearts out to the inklings out in the plaza.

A short while later, Spyke sighed. "It's almost been a month y'know… Crazy right?"

Annie let out a small gasp. "Really?"

"Mhm…" Spyke hummed, nuzzling her head. "I can't believe it either… It's amazin'…"

"Yeah… It really is…" Annie shuttered as she felt his breathing on the top of her head. "A-And c-could you stop that p-please?"

Spyke huffed, sitting up as he still held the anemone close to him. "S-Sorry there…" His cheeks went red as he twirled one of her tendrils between his long fingers. "Y-Your hair is just so soft… I can see why that lil' bugga enjoys restin' up there on yer head so much. But enough of that… hm?" He stood up, still holding the Anemone in his arms.

"W-What are you-"

"I may be tired, but this is our date after all." Spyke walked out into the light of the plaza, cautiously making his way towards the center of the plaza without drawing too much attention from the aloof inklings around them. "So let's just live it up fer a bit, yeah." Once they reached the center of the plaza, he set her down and took a few steps away from her, allowing her to look around the surrounding area before offering a hand to her.

"S-Spyke?" She cocked her head to the side as she stared at his large palm. "W-What are you doing?"

Spyke shook his head, chuckling at her obliviousness to what he was trying to imply. "Let's dance."

"W-Wait what!?"

Before Annie could spout out any sort of protests to his idea, he grabbed her by the hand; spinning her around before yanking her towards him, allowing her to stand up on his feet for a bit of height support- not that it helped or anything.

He balanced her on one of his feet, raising her up to his eye level; grunting as he gave her a reassuring wink before tossing her up into the air, trying his best to suppress any sort of laughter as she yelped. He caught her and spun around, chuckling into her hair as he did so. Annie, despite the fact that she almost had a heart attack from what he just did, couldn't help but to laugh either.

"S-Spyke!" She chuckled resting her head into his chest. "What the hell was that for, babe!?"

Spyke set her back down on the pavement, spinning her around one last time as he knelt down to her level to dip her down, staring lovingly into her eyes as he held her back. "Did you call me, 'babe' just then, love?"

Annie's blush grew darker. "C-Could you just answer the question…?"

"I just wanted to give ya a good fright there, yeah?" He snickered, playfully poking her nose. "It looks like I got ya pretty good too." He lowered his head, moving her closer to him as she did so.

"Jesus Spyke…" She chuckled. "You're getting pretty close right now."

"I'm aware of 'at love." Spyke smiled, his cheeks were almost as red as her's. "And just so you know, I'm only going ta get' closer."

"It sounds like you plan on kissing me... o-or something."

Spyke rolled his eye. "Perhaps."

The two sat there for a moment, staring lovingly at each other before finally closing the gap between them; his thin lips caressing the smooth skin of her plump ones as they met for a long awaited first kiss. Spyke couldn't help but to nip at her lower lip as he familiarized himself with her taste, holding her closer as he deepened their kiss. He grabbed a hold of her face with his free hand, his mind rushing with the temptation of slithering his tongue down her throat as he felt her pulse rapidly tingle under his hand. A short while later, he noticed that her lips were now slightly parted, almost as if she was trying to allow him access beyond her plump lips.

Spyke pulled away abruptly, staring down at her awaiting some sort of clarification. He didn't want her to feel the slightest bit uncomfortable outside of private walls. Annie slightly opened her eyes, giving him a wink that was similar to the one he gave her while placing a hand on the one that cupped her face.

That was all that he needed.

He immediately pulled her up to his face one more, his tongue gently licked her lips before his lips could manage to meet hers once more. The apparent organ slipped past her teeth, gently caressing the roof of her mouth with its pointed tip as her tongue tried to force it down so she could have at least a chance to poke at his teeth.

It was like that until they parted a few minutes later, gasping for breath and praying that nobody saw what they were doing, a thin ribbon of saliva trailed from their mouths as they stared one another down.

"Thank…." Annie panted, desperately trying to take in air as her head spiraled. "Thank god... Moe wasn't here… to... see… that…" She muttered as she pursed her lips, licking off the mixture of their combined spit that coated her lips.

Spyke couldn't help but to laugh at her comment, chuckling and gasping for air while he rested her forehead on hers. "Ah!~" He sighed. "That wos amazin' then, love!"

"W-What I said?" Annie smiled. "Or-"

"Would it be a crime ta say both?"

Annie sat there for a moment before joining along in her lover's laughing fit. "I-I don't think so…"

Spyke grinned. "I love ya, Annie." He said between chuckles.

Annie returned his smile. "I… I love you too."


End file.
